We're Still Here
by AmericasHeroes
Summary: With Echo dead and Derek arrested War and the other Alphas now are at the Ghost's base, working closely with one another. Hesh and Logan no longer having to worry about being so far away from their sister. They thought they'd be safer there. But what happens when someone threatens the Alphas? Will Hesh be able to find the assailant before someone is killed? I DONT OWN CALL OF DUTY.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: _IF YOU HAVE NOT READ 'WE WERE HEROES' YOU SHOULD DO SO NOW TO AVOID CONFUSION _**

**Hey guys! Its been a few days huh? For starters I would like to say that is you haven't read my other story _We Were Heroes_** **I suggest you do that first before reading this story or else you'll be totally lost. I'm so glad to be starting a new series. Hopefully you guys like it. Sorry it took so long. My wrist has been causing more problems than I anticipated. It's hard to write with the splint but I'll still be sure to update regularly. Tell me what you think of the story so far! **

The only sound in the room was the soft breathing and the light snoring from Hesh. War was a light sleeper, naturally. It came with the territory. She shared a room with her two older brothers. Logan and Hesh both insisted they shared a room, their over protective big brother instincts showing. Ever since Derek slit her throat a couple months ago the two had been keeping a close eye on her, especially Logan. He didn't like leaving her alone. Logan had been blaming himself for her injury. She saw the way he cringed every time he saw her scar. To him, it was a reminder of how he failed his sister.

She had learned to get used to Logan's lingering presence. He had also gotten into the habit of watching over her while she slept. At first, it had startled her and she swung at him but she gradually got used to it. It was the same thing every night. He'd sit at the side of her bed and stroke her hair, stroke her cheek. Like he was doing now. It was actually very soothing, but Logan needed to sleep.

She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, feeling Logan's hand pull away gently. She sighed deeply before scanning the dark for her brother. "You need to sleep Logan," she said.

He didn't answer.

"Logan you really shouldn't-"

A hand grabbed her throat, fingers digging sharply into her skin. The movement had caught her completely off guard. This was _not_ Logan. She could see the shadowed outline of the figure moving closer towards her. War couldn't breathe but she was so paralyzed by fear that she couldn't fight for breath. The figure's face came into view. It wasn't her brother like she had first anticipated, it was a women. She was deathly pale with no eyes in her head, just dried crusted blood around the sockets. Blood seemed to stream down her face, gliding down to her outstretched arm. The blood ran to her finger tips and onto War's face. Like snakes...

"Help us War!"

The women seemed familiar but she couldn't place it. But the face before her was suddenly replaced by a _very_ familiar one. She found herself starring into her older brother's blue eyes. The blood continued to flow freely down his face and onto her skin. It was hot and thick, the sharp metallic smell making her gag. Hesh's hand still gripped her throat, ripping open her scar. Her blood and his blood began to mix together. Now she really began to struggle.

"Don't leave us here to die!"

It was her brothers voice but Hesh wasn't really here. Either way she felt sick to her stomach. She thrashed, trying to pry the fingers from her neck but they continued to drive in further, ripping into her flesh. She opened her mouth to cry out but no sound could escape her lips. She was suffocating, her skin was burning. Her green eyes stared into Hesh's blue ones. She finally managed to find her voice.

"Hesh!"

* * *

Hesh began to stir when he heard thrashing and strangled gasps. He immediately rose from his bed and looked over at War. Even in the dark he could see it was her that was struggling. She was reaching blindly at her neck and choking. He hadn't fully been awake until he heard the shout.

"Hesh!"

Now he was on his feet. He ran quickly to War's bed. He immediately grabbed at her hands to keep her from injuring herself. Now she was really struggling. He felt a warm liquid on her hands and realized War had torn open her scar with her fingers. She was choking as if someone was strangling her, but no such event was occurring.

"War! War wake up! Your ok," Hesh tried desperately to soothe her. Logan jumped down from his bunk and came to help. Hesh knew you weren't supposed to shake someone from a nightmare. He had seen men in the army have nightmares and they've punched people for waking them from the terrifying illusion, but they did have much choice.

War sat up abruptly with a gasp, grabbing her throat. Her eyes where wide but she was awake now. She sat there panting, trying to get her breath back. Hesh put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. "Your alright, everything's ok." She looked around the room, then looked at Logan and Hesh. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

She abruptly stood up to leave but Hesh grabbed her arm. "Whoa, whoa, hold up there." He set her gently back onto the bed. "Are you alright?" War didn't answer him, still trying to regain her breath. "Do you want to talk about it?" Hesh asked gently. She shook her head no.

"It was nothing...just a night terror. It was-" she looked Hesh up and down for a brief moment. "Are _you_ ok?"

Hesh regarded her for a moment. Of course he was ok. She was the one who had called out. He was growing increasingly worried about War the past couple of days. This had been happening the past week and War wouldn't talk about it. She wouldn't tell anyone about the sudden night terrors. Hesh desperately wanted to help her but she wouldn't let him in.

"Do you want us to sit with you for a bit?" Logan asked gently.

War shook her head. "I just want to go back to sleep."

That was her way of ending the conversation. Hesh desperately wanted her to talk to him. Explain to him what was wrong so he could make her feel better. He was her brother after all. Didn't she trust them? Hesh went over to his drawer and pulled out some gauze for War's neck. He kept some nearby, just in case. She had busted it open a few times and he was worried it would make the scaring worse.

He wrapped it for her but was sure to take his time incase she wanted to speak to them. Logan got a wash cloth and started to clean the blood from her hands and fingers. Once he was done he tossed both the cloth and gauze back into the drawer. Hesh leaned over and kissed War's forehead before going back to his bunk. Logan doing the same.

War continued to sit in the darkness for a moment. She knew her brothers would be watching her until they where both sure she was fast asleep again. She reached her hand beneath her pillow, feeling for the object she'd concealed. Her finger tips brushed the crumpled paper, reassuring her it was there. She kept it hidden though. She didn't want _anyone _to see it...

* * *

"It's a good thing you're not a big fat guy or this would be _really _difficult."

"Shut up and hold still!"

Connor was balanced on War's shoulders in the middle of the hallway on the Ghost's base. Connor was trying to take a vent off the ceiling while War held him up to reach it. War, having been the strongest of the two, had to keep steady so Connor wouldn't fall flat on his face.

"Ugh...this is gonna take forever!" Connor groaned as he tried to loosen the bolts with a screwdriver.

"What the hell are you two doing?!"

War looked back down from Connor to see a pissed off Merrick standing with his arms crossed. He pretty much babysat the two of them when they strayed away from Logan and Hesh. He was a pain in the ass sometimes but usually that was just to War and Connor, mostly because they deserved it. He never got angry with Semper though. She was his favorite, probably because she never did anything wrong.

"We _can't _stand it anymore Merrick! We can't!" Connor said dramatically.

Merrick simply raised an eyebrow. "Can't stand what?"

"That fucking smell that is coming from this god damn vent!"

"For the last time...There _is _nosmell!" Merrick hissed.

War shook her head, slightly unbalancing Connor. "Seriously Merrick, there's something in this thing," War argued.

He still didn't look convinced, glaring angrily at the two. "I told the clean up crew about it."

"Well obviously they did a shitty job," Connor grunted as he struggled to keep his balance and open the vent at the same time.

"I don't smell anything."

"Well our sense of smell is like a million times better then yours so, fuck you," Connor said.

"Do I need to go get Riley?" He threaten to get the dog a few times before. Riley probably had a better chance at scaring them then Merrick did. Riley still made them uneasy.

"Knock yourself out."

War looked over and saw Brooklyn coming down the hallway. "Hey Brooklyn! Come over here and settle something will ya?"

Brooklyn walked a little faster, coming to stand next to Merrick. "What's the-" He stopped mid sentence and cringed, taking a few steps back. He raised his hands to cover his mouth and nose. He even gagged slightly.

"See! He smells it too!" War said pointing to a temporarily disabled Brooklyn. Merrick did show some concern now due to the older Alpha's reaction. He looked sick. Maybe the smell was toxic? The older an Alpha got the better their senses became. He put a hand on Brooklyn's shoulder and drew him back further.

"Connor! War! Get back away from that!" Merrick ordered.

"Hold up, I almost got it," Connor said, not focusing on Merrick or Brooklyn. War, however, picked up on the urgency in Merrick's voice.

"That's an order! Get back!"

Connor had almost gotten the second bolt out, unscrewing it and pulling it the rest of the way with his fingers. War, however, dipped backwards, knocking Connor off her shoulders and sending him onto his back, behind her. Out of harms way. While he was falling back the bolt fell the rest of the way out, causing the vent to fall open. A foreign liquid dumped onto War. _Now_ Merrick could clearly smell it.

War was doused in a reddish tinged liquid, immediately sending her into a coughing/gagging fit. It almost looked like blood but the consistency didn't quite match up. It was all over her body.

"War!" Merrick stood up and went to help her but Brooklyn grabbed him and pulled him back, putting some distance between War and themselves. War dropped to her knees from her violent coughing before throwing up several times.

"Connor! Go get help!" Brooklyn yelled. Connor quickly ran for help.

"War! Don't move!" Brooklyn said holding his hand out to try and calm the girls movements. War stayed where she was in the dripping liquid. It smelled organic. Like a decaying animal, but Brooklyn knew it was toxic and they needed to get that shit off of War now. He looked around for anything he could use. Merrick grabbed a fire extinguished that Brooklyn had missed. Merrick, thinking quickly, sprayed War with the fire extinguisher.

"War? Are you alright?"

Her only response was more vomiting, she also began to dry heave once her stomach had emptied its contents onto the floor. Merrick handed Brooklyn the fire extinguisher before getting on his radio. "I have a potentially hazardous spill, one person exposed-"

"Your gonna be ok War!"

* * *

Hesh and Logan both ran through the halls once they heard the news. How the hell could this have happened? Merrick hadn't told them anything other than that War was involved in an accident. They where told she was in the infirmary now. After what had happened last night Hesh was already worried sick about her. Trouble always seemed to find her somehow.

They ran into the waiting room of the infirmary only to be stopped by Merrick and Keegan. "Hold up you two! You can't see her yet," Merrick said. They where both standing in front of the room War was in. Keeping both the Walker boys out of the room.

"Merrick!? What the hell!?"

"Don't even start with me Hesh!" Merrick snapped in his commanding voice. "They aren't letting anyone in there right now. They don't know if what's on her is toxic or not."

"Is she hurt? What happened?" Hesh asked desperately trying to get the details. Merrick turned and looked at Connor and Brooklyn who where sitting down in chairs.

"We where walking down the hallway when we smelled something coming from the vent. It'd been reeking the last few days so we figured it was just some dead animal or something like that. So we went to open the vent and that shit splashed out onto War," Connor said sheepishly.

"I don't have any idea what that stuff was but it was _rank_. The smell alone nearly knocked me out," Brooklyn added.

A man wearing a hazard suit walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He took off his helmet and walked over to Merrick. "We have a crew cleaning the rest of the stuff out of the vent and on the floor. The substance _was_ indeed toxic but because of her design and immunity to certain substances she was able to avoid going into a seizure. Spraying her with the fire extinguisher also helped stabilize the substance. We think the smell is what made her throw up and I believe the shock is what cause her to shake so bad."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Hesh hadn't even realized he was holding his breath the entire time. Merrick shook the man's hand. "Thank you. Will she be alright?"

The man nodded. "She may be slightly nauseous. She might need to go slow for a few days but she'll be fine."

"Can we see her?" Hesh asked quickly.

"We have her all cleaned up now, but I would suggest only a few in the room at a time. She's still nauseous," he said before leaving the room.

"You boys go ahead and check on her. Me and Keegan need to go check in with Elias," Merrick said. Their father had been shipped out to NORAD for a while to settle a few things so he wasn't currently on base. Wait until he heard about this mess.

"We'll check on her later," Brooklyn said. He nudged Connor up from his seat and left with Merrick and Keegan. Hesh wasn't going to argue. He wanted to talk to his sister. The two entered the room. Another man in a hazard suit was finishing packing something up. He walked by the two, giving a slight nod, before exiting. War was sitting on a table in a new crisp uniform. Her hair was wet, they probably had to wash the stuff from her hair.

"Are you alright?" Hesh asked quickly. He moved to his sister's side, feeling her forehead for any rise in temperature. War's reaction was slow as she lifted her hand to try and shove his away. She winced as if the effort caused her discomfort or pain. Hesh sat down next to her.

"What hurts?"

She jerked forward suddenly and threw up into a bucket that had been at her feet on the floor. Hesh moved her hair out of the way while Logan rubbed her back gently. She was sweating slightly but other than that she looked alright. She waved the two off weakly with her hand. "I'm fine."

"Obviously not," Hesh said.

"It was nothing."

"War, that stuff was toxic. You where lucky."

"I'm fine Hesh," she said more firmly.

"How did this happen?" Logan asked sitting on the other side of her. War gave a weak shrug. "I don't know. Probably a leak or some stupid shit like that..."

"There's nothing like that on base and that doesn't explain why it was in the vent," Hesh pointed out. He heard a slight crinkling as if someone was holding up paper. He noticed War had one of her hands in a tight fist. Curious, he reached slightly for it. "What's this?"

War jerked her hand away as quickly as her body allowed. "Nothing," she grumbled quickly. Hesh's curiosity changed to suspicion. He knew she had something. Hell, she knew that he knew that she had something. She was just hoping he would forget about it or simply not care enough to ask. Wrong.

"Let me see."

Again, War pulled away.

"War, give it to me."

War shook her head. "I don't have-"

Hesh grabbed her arm and tried to wrestle it from her grip, Logan went to help but War shoved the paper into her mouth and locked her jaw immediately after. Hesh growled slightly in frustration. War had done this on a few occasions. The whole 'locked jaw' thing. When Hesh had drank a little two much she had done the same with his keys so he wouldn't drive. This however, was another situation.

"Nope, that's not working this time." Brooklyn had showed him a pressure point the Alpha's had on their jaws to force their jaws to go slack, even if it had locked in place. Logan grabbed her head and held it still as Hesh took two fingers, one on each hand, and pressed into the area right below her ears, right on the jaw bone. Almost immediately she relased and Hesh took the paper from her mouth.

"You bitch..." she mumbled as she rubbed her aching jaw.

Hesh unfolded the piece of paper and proceeded to read it. Logan read it over his shoulder. He head to do a double take once he read through it the first time. He looked at War wide eyed. "What is this?" He demanded. She sighed and shook her head. "I didn't want you to worry."

"You didn't want me to worry!? Are you serious right now War!? Because I'm pretty fucking worried!"

"It was meant for you but I took it so you wouldn't freak out..." she said, not making eye contact.

Hesh handed the paper to Logan so he could read it thoroughly. "When did you get this!? Well!?"

War mumbled something he couldn't hear. "What?"

"Last week." She said louder, almost a shout for a moment.

Now it made sense. The night terrors. The suspicious behavior. Not wanting to talk to either of them. The mystery liquid that fell on her. Hesh had to sit down again to keep from falling over. He couldn't believe it. He took the letter from Logan when he handed it back to him. What the hell was this? Why would she hide this? He looked back down at the paper in his hands. It was a threat. A death threat. Except it wasn't threatening him. It was threatening War and the other Alphas...

**First of all PLEASE no one try that pressure point mentioned. That really is a really pressure point and I've had it preformed on me. If done correctly you will seriously be in pain, it makes your entire mouth numb. So please don't try it. I also DO NOT own Call of Duty Ghosts. I hoped you guys enjoyed my first chapter :) Let me know what you think so far! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Sorry the update took so long! I've been trying to make my chapters longer, so its been taking a little more time. I'm glad you guys enjoyed my first chapter! Thanks to SweetBrownie, Unnecessarily, and AmericanFirestorm for the reviews! Glad you guys are reading and enjoying the story!**

Hesh started tossing things about the room, searching every square inch of it. He checked under sheets, flipped mattresses, he checked under the beds, in drawers, under desks, anywhere you could possibly hide something. He was bound and determined to make sure War wasn't hiding anything else from them. War simply stood in the middle of the room next to Logan as Hesh tore the place apart.

"I don't have anything," War sighed.

"That's what you told me last time and you _did _have something. How do I know you aren't lying to me again?" Hesh hissed.

War rolled her eyes. "Sounds like a personal problem."

Hesh marched over to War and crossed his arms, standing in front of her. War simply stared at him and didn't move, not showing any emotion on her face. Logan had a hand resting on her shoulder, trying to encourage and support his little sister. Hesh, however, seemed almost too angry to speak. His eyes where narrowed and he was starring at War rather expectantly.

After a long moment of silence Hesh finally spoke up. "One of us is going to be with you at all times from now on."

War's jaw nearly dropped. Her eyes narrowed angrily. "I am _more _than capable of handling myself."

Hesh clicked his tongue on the roof of is mouth. "I don't care. Everyone of you are going to be supervised by one of us at all times."

"Oh spare me Hesh!" She spat out sarcastically.

"This is why I don't trust you by yourself!"

"Jesus Christ! I've been by myself pretty much my whole fucking life!"

"You have a team War! You can't just be the fucking lone wolf! That's not how it works anymore!"

War angrily waved him off and turned to leave the room but Logan gently took her hand, using his free one to gently rub her shoulder. Logan tended to be the peace keeper when it came to Hesh and War. He loved both his brother and sister but he hated it when they argued like this.

"Logan, keep her here. I'm going to go talk to Merrick," Hesh said, storming out of the room.

"I'm not a fucking dog!" War hissed as he left.

Hesh slammed the door behind him, leaving War and Logan alone in the room. War stood with her arms crossed, pure anger and hatred radiating off her face. Logan rubbed her shoulder a minute longer before beginning the process of cleaning the room. War watched him for a moment before letting out a sigh. She couldn't be mad at Logan. The anger left her face as she helped Logan make the beds again.

Logan didn't like when his sister was upset. What he didn't like even more was when his siblings fought. He looked at his baby sister as she helped him with the sheets. She wasn't as angry as she was before but it was still clear on her face. "I love you," he said quietly. War looked up at him, looking slightly guilty. She didn't want Logan to be upset. Logan never did anything.

"I love you too."

* * *

"Damn..."

"What are we going to do?" Hesh asked.

Merrick ran a hand over his head. "I don't know. We'll have to keep an eye out, that's for sure."

"What about War? The threat was mostly directed at her," Hesh pointed out.

Merrick nodded. "I'm aware." Dealing with Hesh was sometimes a major pain in the ass. Merrick understood that you had to protect your family but sometimes Hesh went a little overboard on protecting War. He knew from experience she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Some death threat wasn't going to stop her.

"So what are we going to do?"

Merrick sighed. "Hesh, have you ever considered the fact that you may be overreacting a bit?"

"Overreacting? War just had toxic gunk dropped on her head and Connor almost did too! How the hell am I overreacting?!" Hesh snapped.

Merrick sighed. "Hesh, I've worked with these Alphas a lot longer than you have. They're smart, they're strong, they'll be ok. Let War off the leash a little bit."

Hesh narrowed his eyes. "I don't keep her on a leash..."

"Yes you do. Ever since the incident with Derek you've kept her on a leash. I'm surprised she's gone along with it this long."

"I do not!"

"Open your eyes Hesh! Your with her constantly, you never let her leave the base, you never let her go on a mission alone, I have to practically fight you for her to go on a mission with just one of us!"

Hesh opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He clenched his teeth and looked down at the floor. War was his sister. The girl was fifteen for gods sake! Merrick didn't understand. It was different with Logan because they both had the same training and Logan was older.

"The worst part is you don't even realize it! Worse still, she suffers for it! She's agitated easier, lashes out more. This needs to stop Hesh. Now."

Hesh didn't look at Merrick, choosing to remain silent. "If it escalates we'll do something about it, but until then leave them be. That's all I have to say on the matter." Merrick walked out of the war room, leaving Hesh to his thoughts.

He wasn't just doing this for War, he was doing it for all the Alphas. He loved Semper, Connor, and Brooklyn. They may have been highly trained but they where all still kids. They where working with the Ghosts now, which meant they needed to protect each other. And Hesh was damn sure he would protect them. His biggest fear was that there where so few of them on base that they could easily be separated and singled out. Hesh sighed. If Merrick wouldn't do anything then he'd take matters into his own hands. He walked over and picked up the phone.

"Warren? I need your help."

* * *

"Do you have any three's?"

"Go fish."

"Fuck."

Connor and Brooklyn where playing cards while Semper laid on the couch with Riley. War was a crossed the room sitting in a chair. She had managed to slip away from Logan but now she had a killer headache. She figured as long as Hesh didn't show up she'd be fine.

"War?"

Well, fuck. War rolled her eyes and tilted her head back in annoyance as she heard Hesh's voice. The chair's back was to the door so she hoped that if she sank into it, Hesh wouldn't see her. It's too bad her brother wasn't that stupid. Hesh walked into the room and stood in front of the chair War was lounging in. "Didn't I tell you to stay with Logan?"

"Didn't you pick up on the fact that I don't give a shit?" War muttered.

Hesh crossed his arms but looked at the other three Alphas in the room. "Do they know?" Hesh asked War.

"Know what?" Brooklyn asked, laying down his cards. Hesh sighed and glared at War. "You didn't tell them?"

"I didn't fucking tell anybody you damn loudmouth," War growled.

"What's going on?" Semper asked. By now all the Alphas had stopped what they where doing and came over to Hesh to try and figure out what was going on.

"Someone has threatened all of the Alphas and we aren't sure who it is. So from now on it would be best if you all either stayed together or where with one of us."

"Yeah, because we'll be _much _safer with you," War mumbled sarcastically. Hesh fixed War with a harsh look but it didn't faze her in the least. It did, however, make the others uncomfortable. There had been a lot of tension lately between War and Hesh. The two had been arguing a lot. It was mostly due to Hesh's over protective nature. War just wasn't used to being checked in on constantly or being told what to do. It was making her more agitated and likely to lash out. It seemed that War had actually become _more _aggressive. Something no one else thought was possible.

Semper came between the two of them. "Don't worry Hesh, we'll stay together from now on." She gave him a big reassuring smile. Hesh couldn't help but smile back. Damn Semper and her sweet innocents. It was impossible to stay mad with her around.

"Do you think that's what the whole vent issue was about?" Brooklyn asked. "You think someone went through all that trouble?"

"I had Keegan check the security feed but it's been cut," Hesh said. "So now Merrick is getting a little concerned."

"Why do I get the feeling you did something?" War asked sarcastically.

"Well, since your better off in a large group, I called back the others."

This immediately made everyone perk up. They hadn't seen the other Alphas since the battle. That was a few months ago. Hesh had talked to Warren and he agreed, given the situation, to send the other Alphas back. Smithey, Don, Talon, Lake, Rose, and Sienna would all be coming to the Ghost base for the time being until things cooled off.

Semper was ecstatic. "When are they coming?" She was practically jumping up and down.

"Tomorrow morning," Hesh smiled.

"Let me guess," Connor butted in. "You didn't tell Merrick? Because my guess would be he'd be totally against this."

"Merrick will know in the morning," Hesh shrugged.

War scratched her head. "Damn, your just full of great ideas," she chided.

"You think whoever it is will think their in over the heads when more Alphas show up," Brooklyn summarized.

Hesh nodded. "Exactly, but until then you should all stay together so-"

"-So we can die together," War finished. Her expression was unreadable but her eyes where burning. She had very expressive green eyes.

Hesh shook his head. "That's not what I-"

"-I know what you meant," she growled. War turned and walked out of the room. Hesh looked like he was about to go after her so Brooklyn cut in. "We'll go with her."

He didn't wait for a response, quickly vacating the room to avoid an argument. Hesh and War had been fighting a lot lately. He wasn't sure why. That wasn't his field of expertise. Ever since they got here Hesh had been very overprotective. It was mostly centered around War but he had been doing the same thing to the others as well. At first he thought it was just a phase but that didn't seen to be the case anymore. It didn't take long to find War. She was leaning against the wall staring at the ceiling, arms crossed over her chest.

Brooklyn lightly nudged her arm, snapping her from her thoughts. "Come on, let's talk in my room." He turned to Connor and Semper. "Why don't you two go find Logan or something?" You could never count on Connor to pick up on hints. He never could. He'd just give you a clueless look. Semper got it though and before Connor could say something stupid she led them both away. He turned back to War and gestured for her to follow.

Brooklyn's room tended to be the safe haven for the Alphas, or anyone really, when they had a problem. No one really went in there because he was only really in there when he slept. They where all usually somewhere else. He let War sit down in his bed while he sat on the desk. She laid down on her back and stared blankly at the ceiling. Brooklyn figured she'd talk when she wanted to so he pulled out his pack of cigarettes. God did he need one.

"Can you light me one?"

War's voice more than just surprised him. War never smoked. He had actually stopped offering her cigarettes because she'd always told him no. She said she didn't want to screw up her lungs. The fact she had actually asked him for one showed how stressed and agitated she really was. Everything in his body told him not to give her one. Hesh would be livid pissed if he found out and he didn't want War to regret her decision later. Even so he lit one and handed it to her. She studied it for a moment and Brooklyn somewhat hoped she'd toss it.

"Thanks."

Brooklyn nodded and watched as War inhaled the nicotine and blew out the smoke. Even the cigaret couldn't calm her nerves though. After a couple of puffs she handed it back to him, to Brooklyn's relief. He finished the cigaret for her. "What's on your mind?" Brooklyn finally asked.

War shrugged.

"Everything alright between you and Hesh?"

"Fighting's normal. We're brother and sister. We fight all the time." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"We don't fight all the time," Brooklyn pointed out.

War didn't have a response for that. She simply looked at the ceiling. Choosing not to speak, more so listen to Brooklyn. "I understand it's normal to argue and disagree but you and Hesh have been going at each other's throats for a while now."

"I'm not used to this Brooklyn."

"Pardon?" He raised an eyebrow, not sure what she meant.

"This. The whole 'family/team' thing. All my life I've just done my own thing. Even in training I was on my own mostly."

"That's not true. You had Connor, Sienna, and myself." He sat up a bit. "Your always trying to do things on your own. Maybe you should try to embrace the fact you have a family and a team that cares about you. Why carry such a heavy burden on your own? Your trying to carry the whole load War. You don't need to do that. You always claim you want to be alone but your afraid to be _completely_ alone."

"That's not true, I always go off by myself."

Brooklyn nodded. "True. Remember when we all had the radios to keep in touch? Everyone checked in with each other. You always said you hated it. You never answered yours but you never threw it away either," Brooklyn said. "You always act like you hate everybody, like the whole worlds out to get you-"

"-I do hate everybody."

He shook his head no. "No you don't War. Remember when Sienna first showed up? Some Beta was picking on her and Connor and you snapped that kids arm in half. You didn't have to help, but you did. You liked them. You liked me and Semper. That's why where all here."

War was now sitting up looking at Brooklyn. "I've been with you pretty much your entire life, War. I know you pretty well."

"I guess so. You got it all figured out huh?"

There was a light knock on the door. War rolled her eyes and mouthed to Brooklyn 'Don't answer it.'

Brooklyn chuckled slightly and shook his head. "Coming," he called standing up from the desk he sat on. However, the door opened before he could reach it. Just as soon as it opened, it closed. Brooklyn was caught off guard and slightly confused until a sharp hissing sound grabbed his attention. A canister had been tossed inside without his knowing. Almost immediately the room filled, the thick smoke filling his lungs up. He began to cough, preventing him from holding his breath. War had seen it thrown in and managed to grab a quick intake of air. She ran to the now closed door, trying to let in clean oxygen, or get themselves out preferably. She wiggled the handle but it was locked.

She didn't have time to pick the lock. She saw Brooklyn drop to his knees out of the corner of her eye. She slammed her shoulder into the door. One time, two times, three times. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She needed the breath. The thick fog made her eyes water. Brooklyn was now on the floor, not moving but still breathing. Except his breathing was ragged and he was vomiting. She quickly turned him on his side so he would drown himself. She felt her lungs tightening. She needed air. Reluctantly she took a breath. Her lungs now filled with toxic air. She needed to open the door. She saw Brooklyn's side arm holstered to his hip. She grabbed it and turned to the door. She could feel the coughs coming, threatening to make her collapse. She aimed and unloaded the clip into the lock of the door. That was the last thing she remembered before she began to vomit and shortly after, pass out.

* * *

"War? War? Can you hear me?"

The voice was faded at first but it began to grow louder. Everything was fuzzy as she tried to open her eyes. Her lungs burned.

"She's coming too!"

Who the fuck was yelling? She already had a killer headache. Was that really appropriate? She felt something lightly tap her cheek, trying to wake her up fully. She blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the light. Once her vision cleared she saw Keegan's face hovering inches from her own.

"Oh thank God!" He let out a sigh of relief. He lifted her chin and examined her eyes. "Can you hear me?" She tried to sit up but Keegan pushed her back down. "Easy, easy, we're going to take this slow." War rapidly shook her head and tried to speak. The rapid movement had her seeing spots but she ignored it.  
"Brook...Brook-"

"I know, I know, he's alright. Merrick's with him."

She looked over and saw Merrick leaning over Brooklyn. Her body was wrecked with coughs, causing her to convulse. Keegan pulled her up so she couldn't choke on herself. He pulled her gently in his chest, allowing her to cough up the vile in her lungs. "Easy...Easy."

"How did you-" talking only caused her throat to burn and more coughing. Keegan knew what she was trying to say. "I heard the gunshots and saw gas seeping under the door. Your safe. Your both safe. Just relax."

War felt so sick and weak so she laid her head on Keegan's chest, her eyes growing heavy. She was struggling to stay awake. Keegan lightly tapped her cheek again. "Hey, stay with me." War's head dropped once again as she passed out in the hallway.

"War? War!"

Hesh just arrived to the scene. He saw War's motionless form in Keegan's arms and Brooklyn on the floor starting to move. The door to Brooklyn's room was wide open, a smog like fog lingering. Merrick held his arm out, signaling him to stay back. "Hesh! Stay back!" Stay back? How could he stay back? Brooklyn and War looked like they where dying. He took a step forward but Merrick snapped at him again. "Hesh! I mean it! Stay back! I _will_ court martial you!"

Hesh jumped when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. It was Logan. His younger brother pulled him back away from the scene as the hazard soldiers ran by, followed by a couple of medics. He jerked away from Logan and watched as the medic took vitals and checked their respiratory system. He could already tell both of their breathing was off. "Fuck!" He cursed. He should have stayed with them. He knew this would happen. "Son of a bitch!" He punched the wall harshly, ignoring Logan's pleas to relax. He turned to Logan with fire burning in his eyes. "I will find whoever did this...I will kill them or die trying!"

**I DO NOT PROMOTE SMOKING. It's a bad habit and you should never ever do it. Again, sorry this chapter took so long. It was a working progress. Hopefully you all enjoyed :) And yes, all of our lovely Alphas are coming back next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Glad your all enjoying We're Still Here. I managed to type this one up a little quicker but the next one may take me a couple of days. My wrist is healing up nicely so I have been typing a little faster :) Thank you to everyone who review!**

**SweetBrownie: I loved your narration of the chapter xD I am looking forward to reading your reviews! I'm glad your so deeply attached to your characters :) It makes it more fun to write about when you know people are emotionally attached to them.**

**AmericanFirestorm: Glad you liked the conversation between Brooklyn and War :) I was hoping you would enjoy that!**

**Hopefully this chapter does not disappoint!**

Everyone had been forbidden to see both Brooklyn and War. Merrick was the only one authorized to see them. He was also the only one who was to be informed on the progress of the two of them. It drove Hesh crazy. He had to go to Merrick for an update and even then Merrick got to decide what to tell him. The last thing Hesh had actually been informed of was that the two where getting their stomachs pumped. That was hours ago. It was now eleven a clock at night and he was still standing outside the infirmary, waiting for Merrick to come out.

He found himself waiting another forty five minutes before the man finally appeared. The door opened and he moved aside quickly, anticipating the news. Merrick shut the door behind him. He looked a little ruff, the stress of the days events taking it's toll over him. It was taking it's toll on everyone. Even Keegan who was normally calm and unreadable was stressed. Hesh was immediately all over him. "What's going on? Can I see them?"

Merrick shook his head. "I got nothing for you Hesh."

"What? But Merrick-"

"No Hesh! I don't want the news of their condition getting out. This is now being handled as a serious threat. There has been an attempt on our Alphas lives twice."

"I called Warren and asked him to send the others," Hesh said. Now was as good a time as any to fess up.

Merrick narrowed his eyes. "You did what!? Without my permission?"

Hesh nodded. "You weren't taking the threat seriously until it escalated further. I made the right choice."

"Did it ever occur to you that you may have just put more Alphas lives on the line?"

Hesh didn't answer. In fact, that hadn't occurred to him at all. He figured there was strength in numbers. He had assumed whoever was making the threats would be intimidated by the sheer number of Alphas around. Anybody in their right mind would be. But you obviously weren't in your right mind if you attacked an Alpha in the first place.

"That's why you can't be trusted with what's going on."

"Merrick-"

"Enough Hesh! I swear if I find you anywhere near here I will loan you out to another unit until this blows over. Got it?" Hesh reluctantly nodded. "Now go get some sleep like your brother. You have to greet all the Alphas tomorrow."

* * *

_"Easy now, this may hurt a bit. This should help heighten your senses. It should also give you night vision in your eyes. This will be a grand accomplishment for us if this succeeds."_

_Brooklyn tried to relax against the cold metal but it proved difficult with his hands and feet being tied down. He had done this plenty of times but it never got any easier. He tried to look relaxed but these people knew better. As long as he didn't lash out though, they didn't really care. _

_"Proceeding with test one."_

_Brooklyn winced as the needle went into his neck, he squirmed slightly when the cold metal pinched into his skin but movement made it worse. The next two needles pierced through his skull, that part was always the worst. He opened his mouth and let out a silent scream. _

_"Last one."_

_Last one? There was another needle? There usually wasn't. He glanced up and saw the machine lowering it down towards his head. For a moment he assumed it was going into his forehead, but as it got closer he realized this wasn't the case. The needle was going into his eye. Immediately he began to panic. Where they fucking crazy? A fucking needle in his eye?_

_"Hold his head."_

_He felt hands pinning down he head, keeping it still. He struggled but they prepared for this. His bonds had been tightened prior to the experiment. The needle edged closer and he shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see the damn thing. He felt nauseous and sick. Two fingers pried his eye open right as the needle was about to enter. His eyes widened in absolute horror stricken terror as the cold metal pierced his eye. _

_He screamed._

Brooklyn shot up with a gasp. He felt the leather around his wrists and ankles. Immediately he started to thrash. No way. Not again. He wasn't going to do this again. He started to hyperventilate as he scanned the room. The room was dark, with no one in sight. He looked up, expecting to see a needle descending towards him.

"Brooklyn! Look at me! Hey, look at me. Your alright. Everything's ok, we're safe."

He relaxed slightly when he heard War's voice. He turned his head and saw her glowing green eyes looking at him through the darkness. It comforted him a little bit, knowing she was there and that he wasn't alone.

War knew how to calm Brooklyn down in these situations. She had a similar terror when she had woken up. The only advantage was she woke before Brooklyn did so he didn't get to see her frazzled like that. She was in a similar situation as Brooklyn. She was restrained like he was to the bed. War was pretty sure they where tied down so that they wouldn't rip out the I.V's or run off. The days events plagued her mind. How they had been gassed in Brooklyn's own room. He was still trying to relax, but failing miserably.

"Your fine, we're alright. We are in the infirmary," War said. Brooklyn let out a sigh of relief and laid his head back down on the pillow. He turned his head towards her. "Why would they tie us down?" She heard the slight crack in his voice. Brooklyn was ok in infirmary's, but when he was tied down? That was a _whole _different thing. You could _not _restrain him like that or he freaked out. Of course, the Ghosts didn't know that. War's objective was to keep him calm until someone showed up to untie them.

War was used to being tied down. She had been tied down a lot of times. Mostly because she was a bitch to keep in the infirmary. It really didn't bug her as much. She'd been tied down a lot during experiments as well. She knew in the back of her mind though that if she really wanted to she could brake out. Knowing that always kept her calm in situations like this.

Brooklyn, however, had a totally different outlook on the restraints in the infirmary. He always had flashbacks to the experiments they preformed on him. Especially the one where his eyes became discolored. It wouldn't be long before he completely flipped shit. She could see his eyes widen in the dim light of the room.

"Probably just to prevent us from further injuring ourselves," she explained, hoping it would satisfy him.

Brooklyn tugged at the restraints and tried to slip his hand out of one of them. He was getting uncomfortable. She could see him starting to sweat a little bit. Brooklyn tugged harshly, wanting the things to snap off, but it didn't work like that. War started to become worried he'd injury himself. "Brooklyn, just relax."

"W-why would they n-need to tie us down?" She could see blood starting to come from his already raw wrists. The leather dug into his skin harshly, leaving blood in it's wake. This is why he hated the infirmary. "Calm down Brooklyn," War pleaded. His eyes where starting to burn bright with fear. The door opened suddenly and Merrick entered. He looked over and was surprised to see the two awake. He was immediately concerned though when he saw Brooklyn thrashing.

"He's freaking out, can you please untie him?" War explained quickly.

Merrick tried to get him to relax. "Easy, Easy!" Brooklyn was usually very calm and collective. He gripped his wrists and freed him but instead of sitting up and trying to relax like War expected, he did the exact opposite. Ripping out the IV Brooklyn hopped off the bed and ran out the door. "Brooklyn!" Merrick called after him. He quickly ran out after the frightened boy. War narrowed her eyes as she was still left tied down. "Well...fuck you too," she growled, begging her escape.

Brooklyn's heart was racing as he bolted out of the infirmary. He was shaking and out of breath. He needed to go. He needed some fresh air, to be out in the open away from that room. He pushed open the door only to smack right into Hesh. "Brooklyn? Brooklyn are you alright?"

"Hesh! Grab him!" Brooklyn was already up and past Hesh before Merrick could finish his sentence. "Brooklyn!"

"Leave me alone!" Hesh and Merrick quickly went after him before he could get hurt.

"Brooklyn! Please stop!" Hesh called. He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop. Hesh knew this. Brooklyn got caught at the end of the hallway, forgetting it was a dead end. He was backed into a corner now. Merrick held his arms out in a friendly gesture. He knew a terrified Alpha backed into a corner was _not _good. His eyes where wide as he watched them come closer. The poor kid was absolutely terrified.

"Get away from me!" He growled.

"Brooklyn you need to go back to the infirmary," Merrick said gently.

Brooklyn shook his head. "Leave me alone, I'm not going back."

"Brooklyn, you have to," Hesh reasoned. "Your hurt."

"I am _not _being tied up again!"

"Brooklyn, it was just to keep you two still," Merrick said. "You won't be tied up."

He rapidly shook his head, pressing himself further into the wall. "No! Your lying to me! Your g-going to tie me up again!"

Hesh looked at Merrick. He had never seen Brooklyn like this. This wasn't the calm and collective teenager he fought with on the battlefield. This was a child. A child that was terrified. Brooklyn's bright, wolf like eyes darted around, looking for an escape. The two older men had his escape route cut off though.

"Please! Please stay away from me!"

"We're just trying to help you Brooklyn," Merrick said.

In desperation Brooklyn pulled out a scalpel and pointed the blade at the two of them. He must had grabbed it while he was running out. Now Hesh was a little worried. The boy was more than willing to cut one of them if they came near him. The terror in his eyes said it all.

"Brooklyn."

Hesh turned as he saw War coming up behind them. He noticed there was blood around her wrists from where the restraints had rubbed, similar to Brooklyn's wrists. She was approaching very slowly. She stepped past the two and signaled them to stay back. At first, Hesh was going to argue, but if anyone could calm the boy down it would be War.

"Brooklyn, everything's going to be alright." She had her hand outstretched for the scalpel, trying to get it away from him.

"Their going to make me go back," he whimpered.

War shook her head. "They won't, I promise."

Brooklyn's eye's where unfocused. He was remembering back to all the times he had been experimented on. All the times he had been tied down. All he times he had been lied to, told he wouldn't be restrained. He wasn't completely _there. _He was shaking badly now, War only a few feet away. He kept the scalpel pointed towards her.

"N-no...please...leave me alone!" He slid his back down the wall.

"I won't hurt you, Brooklyn. It's me, it's War. Listen to my voice," She was speaking very gently to him, trying to snap him out of it. Merrick and Hesh could only watch them. Offering their moral support.

War knelt down on one knee in front of him. Brooklyn seemed to be calming down a little bit. Maybe he did recognize her? His breathing was beginning to calm down. War, very slowly, reached out towards him. She made sure her movement was known so she wouldn't scare him. She reached out and gently touched his hand. Brooklyn's head jerked up.

He swung the scalpel and stuck it into War's shoulder. He caught her off guard and she yelped slightly as the medical tool was driven into her shoulder. She jerked back but didn't move away. She pulled the tool out of her shoulder and tossed it back towards Hesh so the weapon was away from Brooklyn. Now that the weapon was gone War grabbed Brooklyn and pulled him into a tight hug. Keeping the boy from running.

He struggled briefly but then gave in after a few moments. Brooklyn buried his face into War's shoulder and began sobbing. He wrapped his arms tightly around War. Hesh had never seen Brooklyn cry. He could also see tears on the corner of War's eyes too. Hesh and Merrick slowly approached, crouching by them just a foot away. "Your ok," War said patting his back comfortingly.

Brooklyn was letting out choked sobs. "They tried to-..."

"Shhh, I know... I know."

"I'm sorry War...I-I didn't-"

"It's fine Brooklyn, it'll heal," she kept him held tightly to her.

"I don't want to go back...Please don't make me go back," the nineteen year old pleaded.

War shook her head. She kept a hand tanged in his hair, holding his head while he cried into her shoulder. "No. We're done for the day. You're not going back. I promise."

Hesh could only sit back and watch as Brooklyn fell apart in War's arms. The younger Alpha doing all that she could to comfort the oldest one. Silent tears slipped down War's cheeks, but she only allowed a few. He watched as the blood from War's shoulder dripped to the floor. Hesh felt his blood begin to boil. Because of this unknown enemy, an Alpha's blood had been spilled onto the floor.

* * *

"We're here!" Sienna sang as she stepped off the helicopter. She glanced around. "Nice place. I could get used to it here."

"It's rather dank for my taste's," Lake shrugged.

Hesh stepped forward to meet the Alphas as they unloaded from the helicopter. He was glad they where finally all here. "You guys behave," Smithey said sternly. He didn't direct it at anyone in particular but Hesh had a feeling it was at Lake, Sienna, and Talon. At least, those where the ones that struck Hesh as the most fired up.

"Where the fucks this guy at, huh?!" Talon came storming off the helicopter. "I'll cut his-"

"They don't know Talon, that's why we're here," Smithey cut in rather sharply. "Did you not pay attention when I debriefed all of you?"

Lake rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Have you ever sat through one of your debriefs?" He asked Smithey. "Seriously dude, you sound like Charley Brown's teacher. Whomp, whomp, whomp whomp whomp, whomp. "

Hesh couldn't help but laugh. Smithey however, didn't find it as funny as the others did. He was defiantly not someone you wanted to piss off but Lake would always push his luck with the more experienced Alpha. He almost chuckled again when he saw both Sienna and Lake where dressed in their regulation MES clothes instead of the attire they had the last time they met.

Smithey broke him from his thoughts. "You said over the radio the situation _had _indeed escalated?" He confirmed. Hesh cleared his throat and nodded. "That's correct. Brooklyn and War where attacked again yesterday."

"Are they alright?! Can we see them?" Sienna asked hurriedly.

Hesh thought back to Brooklyn's mental breakdown before shaking his head no. "Now isn't the best time. They need rest. I'm sure they'll be fine tomorrow though." The Alphas weren't stupid. They knew there was something he wasn't telling them. Smithey got them back on track and off that topic by speaking up. "What do you need us to do?"

Gotta love Smithey. Always keeping them on track. "I can debrief you all in the war room if you follow me-"

"Ugh..." Lake groaned, earning a backhand from Rose. Shit. He hadn't even seen her there. She defiantly needed a bell. Maybe he would look into that. The Latino women was _way _too quiet for his liking. That was a good thing though. They could use her skills.

"Jesus, Lake, your like another version of Connor," Don said with an eye roll.

"Fight me bro," Lake said striking a pose.

"I'll kick your ass."

Clearly the long flight did not work well for the energetic Alpha. This would defiantly be interesting. The group followed him to the war room where they found Merrick standing with a cup of coffee in his hands. He looked like a mess. Hesh expected this though due to the fact he had been trying to help War take care of Brooklyn.

"Hey, Merrick! Long time no see," Talon smiled. She was intentionally ignoring his appearance, she didn't really want to know, figuring it had something to do with her injured friends.

"How you all doing?" he asked straightening up.

"Ready for a fight," Don said eagerly.

Merrick gestured them to come over to the table. "A little over a week ago War intercepted a death threat. We only found out about it a few days ago."

"Intercepted?" Smithey asked.

"It was supposed to be to Hesh but War got it first. We brushed it off as nothing but yesterday herself and Brooklyn where attacked. Someone put gas in the room," Merrick explained.

"What kind of gas?" Don asked.

"Unclear, the hazard crew couldn't figure it out. Some sort of mixture."

"Bastard can't hide forever. He has to slip up sometime," Talon said.

"True, we've checked the tapes but they've been wipped clean in both incidents."

"What about the security guards that watch that stuff?" Smithey questioned.

"It's been different men each time, no consistency," Merrick sighed.

Smithey nodded. "As Talon previously stated, this guy will slip up eventually. I think we can actually find out who is responsible for the attack through the gas. We just need to figure out what it is. That's our only lead right now. So-" He was cut off by a very loud scream. All the Alphas turned their heads quickly towards the door. "What the fuck...?" Lake tilted his head slightly in confusion.

It wasn't nearby. It was back by the rooms. It was clearly female though. War? No it wasn't War. They didn't have any other females on base besides a couple of pilots but they where all out on a mission somewhere. War always said Connor screamed like a girl but he doubted it was him. Who else was there? Hesh's eyes very suddenly widened in realization. It was Semper.

**Yes, I leave you with this cliff hanger :) Why? Because it makes for a good chapter? Eh. Because I'm too lazy to type? Probably more so the second reason. Either way hopefully you all enjoyed :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to update. I know it's been a few days. This chapter is a little shorter but I hope to update again over the weekend :) A new enemy is now terrorizing the Alphas. But how can you fight something you can't see? **

"Semper!"

It didn't take long for the whole war room to clear out. Hesh, having realized what was happening, was the first one out. Smithey was right behind him, hot on his heels. The urgency of the situation had greatly escalated.

"I don't see her! I don't see her!" He could hear Talon's frantic voice behind them. The screams where still bouncing down the halls, ringing in their ears. Hesh's first instinct was to run to Semper's room. That was where she sounded like she was. Was Connor with her? He hadn't heard the boy's voice. They all rounded the corner down the hallway where most the rooms where. Hesh could see Semper in her doorway.

Upon arriving closer he saw that she appeared to be tangled up in something. She was screaming and thrashing fearfully, trying to push something away from her. Hesh was quickly by her side. Now he knew why she was screaming. She was tangled up in some strings that where hanging a dead body in her doorway.

She was face to face with the rotting corpse. She was screaming and trying to push away but the cords that wrapped around her prevented her from doing so. Hesh quickly took out his knife while Smithey grabbed Semper, trying to keep her still. Her face was bloody but it was safe to assume it was from the bloody body tissue. Hesh grabbed a hold of the cords and cut them all lose. The corpse dropped like a sack of potatoes, splattering some blood and other bodily fluids about. Semper, who was finally free, turned to run off but Hesh wouldn't allow it. He pulled her into his chest, keeping her close. He could feel her rapid heart beat pounding against her chest. "Shhh, Semper your alright."

She was crying, digging her face further into Hesh's chest. Smithey, seeing that Hesh had control of Semper, went examine the body. Merrick came up beside him even though his mind seemed more focused on Semper. The 'corpse' wasn't really that old. He put his hand on the meaty tissue. Miraculously it was still warm. This body couldn't be more than six hours old. What was disturbing was that the body had been skinned so that there was only the muscle left and the other internal organs where missing. This was clearly murder in Smithey's eyes. Without the skin he couldn't clearly tell what had killed this person though. They would need a professional to examine it. He looked up from what he was doing when he heard choked sobs. His first priority was now Semper.

Talon and Sienna where already consoling her. Sienna was rubbing calming circles on her back while Talon stroked her hair. Hesh was keeping her close to him, making her feel secure. Smithey jumped slightly when Rose appeared next to him. "I'm going to look around, see what I can find," she said quietly. Smithey nodded his approval. Rose silently disappeared down the hallway. Off to do her own thing.

"Fuck..." Don looked at the body on the floor. "Who is that?"

Good question. There was no way to tell. "Do you think he was skinned after he was dead?" Lake questioned. Smithey was about to answer when a small voice made him stop short.

"I d-didn't k-know."

Smithey turned when he heard Semper's voice. It was slightly muffled due to her face being buried in Hesh's chest. Smithey walked over to her, gently rubbing her head. "Did you see anything?" He asked gently. He didn't want to upset her further.

She shook her head. "No...I-I was going t-to my room...I opened the door and..." She pressed her face into Hesh's chest again. The poor girl was shaking like a leaf. She must have opened the door and the body swung down into her, tangling her in the cords.

"When was the last time you where in your room?" Don asked.

Semper looked at Don with tear filled blue eyes. "About two hours ago."

"Damn," Lake growled.

That meant this was set up very recently. Not only that but whoever this was knew where everyone was at. Smithey looked back at Merrick. The man was clearly upset. Who could blame him? Someone was stalking his teammates, and there was nothing they could do.

"What's that?" Lake asked. He tilted his head curiously before he stepped over the body and into the room.

"Lake!" Merrick hissed. Smithey beat him to it, grabbing the younger male and pulling him back.

"Hey! Let go Smithey!" He protested as he was dragged back out of the room.

"We don't know what's in there!" Don barked. "They could have planted anything in there."

"It's not safe Lake. We'll have the room checked so-"

Lake wasn't really one to listen to reason. He'd rather die with his boots on. He ducked under Smithey's arm and went back into the room. Merrick reached for him but Lake was already inside. The three men waited in the doorway, watching as their comrade looked about the room. Lake was more interested in what he had spotted a few moments ago then whatever else could have been placed in there. He walked over to the nightstand next to Semper's bed. Sitting there was a small package. Curiously, Lake lifted the box and examined it for a moment.

"Lake! Get back here! That's an order!" Merrick snapped.

Lake sighed and took the package with him, walking back towards the door. The three men grabbed him once he was in arms reach and pulled him forcefully out of the room.

"Are you out of your mind?" Don growled.

"Put that down Lake! It could be an explosive!" Smithey ordered.

Lake shook his head confidently. "No, it's organic. I can smell it," he tried to reassure. He pulled out a knife to cut it open but Smithey snatched the package from him. He stepped away from everyone, holding a hand out to signal them to stay back slightly. Lake had been right. It was something organic. Nonexpolsive.

"Be careful," Talon said.

Smithey nodded before carefully taking out his own knife. He carefully took the blade across the top of the box, cutting through the packaging tape slowly. All eyes where on him as he slowly opened it. Semper had calmed down a bit. She had stopped crying and was watching Smithey carefully. She still kept her arms wrapped tightly around Hesh who was also watching intently. Slowly, he pulled back the top of the box. Upon seeing what was inside, he jumped and shoved it away from him.

"Jesus Christ!"

Don walked over and picked up the box. He looked inside and cringed. "Fuck man..."

"What is it?" Hesh asked. His curiosity getting the better of him. Don tipped the box towards them so they could all see. The girls gasped in surprise and the others cringed. Inside the box was a heart. A human heart. It was fresh too, heat was still radiating off of it. The whole bottom of the box was coated in blood. Someone had left a heart for Semper to find. "How romantic," Talon hissed dryly.

"Probably safe to assume that belongs to him," Merrick jerked his head towards the dead human being on the floor.

"He must have been picked off when he was alone," Lake said.

Smithey felt panic swell in his chest. "Merrick! Where's War, Brooklyn and Connor!?" His loud, commanding voice made everyone jump. "War and Brooklyn should be with Logan. Conor I don't know," Merrick said.

"Lake! You and I are going to check on Brooklyn, War, and Logan. "Don, you and Merrick go find Conor. The rest of you stay here with Semper."

The younger male ran down the hallway with him but Lake was much faster than he was. The kid would intentionally go slower when he was with others so they wouldn't feel bad. "Lake! Go on ahead of me!" Now wasn't the time to be prideful. If the kid could get there faster without him then so be it. Lake nodded and was down around the corner before he could blink. He just hoped nothing was wrong and that the were all ok.

Lake found War's room by scent. She shared it with Hesh and Logan so there was a good bet that's where they where. He didn't even bother to knock. He opened the door and looked around quickly. Logan and Brooklyn looked up at him in confusion. The two where simply talking. Everything seemed fine. Except... "Where's War?" He couldn't keep the urgency out of his voice. Logan stood up immediately. He didn't even know they'd arrived yet.

"She isn't with Hesh?"

Lake's eyes widened. With Hesh? Did he hear him right? War was defiantly_ not_ with Hesh. Maybe she hadn't made it to Hesh? Maybe something or _someone _prevented her from doing so. Had she been hurt? He immediately grabbed his radio. "War? Are you there? Is anyone there?"

"This is Merrick, Connor is accounted for." Merrick's voice crackled over the radio.

"What's wrong? Did you find them?" He cringed slightly when he head Hesh's voice.

"No, War's missing."

* * *

Hesh was furious with himself. They where supposed to protect them and they had failed. Right now all the Alphas, along with Logan where in the War room. Keegan, Merrick, and himself where searching the base for War. The others where upset that they couldn't help but Merrick assured that they would be more helpful by staying put. They didn't need anyone getting lost.

He searched the west side of the base and came up with nothing. There was no sign of her. She wasn't answering the radio, which wasn't really anything new. Everyone on base was required to carry one. War kept one with her but you could always count on her _not _answering it. Ever. It really pissed him off, especially in situations like this. Although, in this case it may not be her fault. What if that sick bastard took her?

Hesh gritted his teeth, smashing his fist into the nearest wall. He decided to go check outside as well. Even though he always told her not to, War would go off into the forest surrounding the base. He warned her about the dangers. There where wolves out there for starters. He remembered when he and Logan had a run in with some wolves back in No Man's Land. Lucky for them, Merrick and Keegan where there to save their asses.

There was a good bet though that War was out there. Trouble was he never knew where she went. He did however have a motion sensor with him that picked up movement from people nearby. He had used it before when Rorke had crashed their plane in some god forsaken jungle. Now was as good a time as any to use it.

Almost immediately, it picked something up. He felt a bit of relief wash over him but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He needed to see who exactly is was first. He raised his pistol and knife up as he walked through the trees. He kept low, just incase he needed to. If War was out here on her own free will he didn't want her running off when she saw him.

The sound of a nearby stream drowned out the sound of the pinging and also his footsteps. He didn't even know there was a river out here. This must be where she came to when she left the base. Staying low and out of sight he looked down to see he was only a hundred feet from whoever his tracker had spotted. Whoever it was though wasn't moving, which made his job easier.

He approached the area slowly. Closing the distance between them quickly. Ninety feet, seventy feet, fifty feet, forty feet, he was confused when he was in visual distance and couldn't see anyone. There was a large tree but there wasn't anyone around it. It was very close to the water so he checked the bank but still found no one. He was growing extremely frustrated.

"Hey, blue eyes. You come here often?"

He jerked his head up to see War about fifteen feet above him. She was sitting on a large branch with her back leaning against the trunk itself. He would be relieved if he wasn't so downright pissed off at his sister. "Cadence Walker, what the hell are you doing here!?" War raised an eyebrow at the use of her birth given name that was never used unless Hesh was extremely pissed. Fine, she could play along.

"David Walker, why the hell are you here?" She questioned, also using his full name mockingly.

Wow. She really knew how to piss him off. "We've all been searching the fucking base for you! Your supposed to be with Logan!"

"Yeah, the thing is, I _didn't _want to be with Logan. Funny how that works ain't it?" War brought her arms behind her head and looked up at the bright blue sky. It was a beautiful day out.

Hesh tried to take a deep breath to calm down. War was extremely difficult sometimes. He brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. After a few moments he looked back up at War who was still staring up at the sky, momentarily forgetting his presence.

"Get out of the tree."

War glanced back down at Hesh. "Pardon?"

"Get the fuck out of the tree," he growled.

"Yeah right. So you can ring my neck as soon as my feet touch the ground? Fuck that."

Hesh took another deep breath. "Ok, I'm calm."

"Like hell you are."

"War, I will climb that tree and pull you out of it."

"That sounded kind of violent for someone who is calm," she stated.

"War, I swear to God I will-"

"How about you just shut up and leave me alone?" She snapped.

Hesh was taken back for a moment. "Because every time your alone you get into trouble. Like now for instance."

She flipped him off. "Fuck off." She turned her back to him and looked out at the trees.

Hesh could feel his blood boiling as his sister simply brushed him off. Walking over to the base of the tree he found a low branch and began to climb up. He and Logan had climbed trees many times before. They always did back in California. They even hunted from trees for God's sake. So he'd be damned if he'd let his little sister one up him from a fucking tree.

She didn't seem concerned by the fact he was quickly ascending the tree. She simply stood up on the branch she was on and began to climb higher. She was out of sight as she twisted around the trunk for branches. Hesh just figured she had gone up higher. Once if was about three fourths of the way up he realized War was no longer above him. A sharp whistle drew his attention back down to the base of the tree. War was standing there looking up at him. "How in the hell...?" Did she fucking jump down?

"You done screwing around in the tree?"

"Your walking on _very _thin ice," Hesh growled as he started to descend. War shrugged and leaned against the trunk. She watched her older brother start climbing back down again. She figured she had plenty of time before he got back down. He seriously needed to lighten up. All she wanted to do was slip out for a while and relax. Not have to worry about what was going on. Of course, her brother just _had_ to come searching for her.

She looked out at the river. I would be nice to go for a swim in it some day. It was perfect outside. There was a slight breeze, the sun was shinning, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Beautiful. She wished she could enjoy it instead of being stuck on the damn base all day. She shut her eyes and listened to everything. Taking a deep breath, letting it all sink in.

"Hey!"

She jumped slightly when Hesh grabbed her jaw and forced her to look at him. "Did you hear me?" Obviously not. If there was one thing War absolutely hated it was being grabbed like she was some fucking dog. She knocked Hesh's hand away and took a step back from him, glaring harshly. "Don't fucking touch me. You know I hate being grabbed."

"And you know I hate being lied too," he snapped back.

She rolled her eyes and turned to walk back to the base but Hesh grabbed her arm. "Don't walk away from me War. I want to talk about what's going on with you." She jerked her arm away and turned back around towards him. "Well I don't Hesh."

"So what, your just gonna bottle everything up? Again?" He crossed his arms accusingly.

War rolled her eyes. "Oh spare me David," she spat out his name harshly. "Why don't you just go drink your problems away like you always do."

"I don't always drink."

"No, but when you do you drink a shit ton. You wanna fucking lecture _me _about how_ I_ handle my problems? Well fuck you Hesh!"

"Then fucking talk to me! You don't tell me or Logan ,for that matter, anything! All you want to do it fight!"

War exploded. "How the fuck do you think I got the name 'War,' Hesh?! I didn't just wake up one morning and say 'call me War from now on'! I got that name because I was the best damn fighter in the MES! I got that name because I was tough and I never showed emotion! I never talked about my damn feelings and I was always fine on my own! I'm still fine on my own!"

"It doesn't work like that anymore!"

"Maybe not for you! But for me it'll always be the same!" She hissed.

"Why do you insist on keeping to yourself? You never talk about your night terrors, you never want to talk about what happened to Echo, you never talk about C.C-"

"Don't you _dare_ fucking talk about Cade!" War's voice had gotten dangerously low. It always angered her when someone brought him up. "You didn't even know him!" She spat.

"You think just forgetting about it is going to help? It never helps War. You can't just forget," Hesh said.

"You better shut the fuck up David!"

"It wasn't your fault he-"

War had enough of this. How dare he talk about Cade Carter like that. Hesh hardly knew him. He had no right to bring him up. War did something she had never done before. Something Hesh didn't even expect her to do. She punched her brother. Hard.

**Damn, looks like you'll have to wait till next chapter for the fight ;) Brother vs. Sister. Sorry this chapter was a little short. Looks like the enemy knows more than they expected. Now with the other Alphas on base, will they be in danger too? Are Hesh and War falling apart? Where the hell did Rose go? Lol I have to say that Rose is so quiet that sometimes I actually forget she is even in the story. I have to keep reminding myself she is there xD Hope you guys enjoyed :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well I will be 100% honest with you. I watched a lot of videos of fights to try and get a nice fight scene xD I hope it meets everyone's expectations ^_^ Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! I appreciate it! It took a while but I hope you enjoy it. **

He immediately brought his hand up to cradle his jaw. The hit hurt. _Fuck, _did it really hurt. War really did not hold back on that blow. It took him a moment to get over the initial shock that his little sister had just punched him. He could taste blood in his mouth. War wasn't done though. Before he could say anything she kicked out and hit him square in the chest, knocking him backwards. He stumbled and went down to one knee. He looked up at War who was literally _shaking _with anger. She was gritting her teeth and her green eyes where burning brightly with anger.

He stood up and glared at her. His cold blue eyes met War's angry ones. For a moment, he thought maybe she was done. That she had blown off all of her steam. Damn was he wrong. War threw a sharp right hook that Hesh was ready for. He deflected it easily enough. He was trained to fight in hand to hand combat but for starters he was in the Army. War was trained with the MES or, to put it simply, she was trained like the Marines. Probably twice as hard as them actually. It didn't matter though. Hesh didn't like to loose.

Hesh surprisingly found himself throwing a punch of his own. He was just so angry that he didn't even think about it. He moved closer to War before throwing a left hook but she was quick like he was. She dodged it and tried to kick out at him while he was off balance. Hesh however knew she would do this from previous fights he had seen her in. He swung his fist while she had put all her momentum into the kick. He managed to catch the side of her head but War could take a hit like a champ.

He didn't give her time to recover. he moved quickly and put her into a headlock. Not a playful one like he usually did. He put her in a choke hold. If she wanted to fight he'd give her a fight. War wasn't in this position for long, she flipped him over her shoulder and the next thing he knew he was on his back in the dirt. He rolled quickly to the left, away from the river. War managed to get on top of him, pushing him back into the dirt.

She aimed a blow to his face but Hesh caught her fist and flipped their positions. He tried to grab both her arms so he could pin her but War had other ideas. She grabbed onto his arm that held onto hers, pulling herself forward and head butting Hesh in the face. He immediately released her and fell back away from her. His hand instinctively went to his nose, his eyes immediately watering. War went to sit up but Hesh kicked out and got her square in the face. The blow sent her backwards too but she used the momentum to roll off her shoulder and stand quickly. Fuck she was quick.

Hesh stood up but War shot forward and threw all of her weight into him. Hesh felt the air being driven from his lungs. Moving to be on top, her hands wrapped around his throat, preventing him from getting more air. Suddenly the fight felt like more than just a disagreement. He brought his knee up into her stomach, making her release. While she was in recoil, Hesh punched her in the cheek. War responded with a barrage of blows to his face. They hits where so quick he didn't have enough time to block them.

He felt War repeatedly hitting his face. He was finally able to catch her hand and twist harshly, nearly braking her wrist. She didn't cry out though. No, War was tougher than that. But he was tough too. Not many lasted long in a fight with an Alpha MES. But that could just be her going easy on him.

She drove her elbow into his face, rattling his teeth and breaking his gums. He felt blood pooling into his mouth. He turned his head and spit it out. He stood and took a few steps back, putting some distance between them. War had a bruise forming on her cheek. Blood was flowing into her eye from a cut on her left temple. Hesh kind of wondered what he looked like. He was sure there was blood coming from his nose and mouth.

This time he moved first. He figured if he could get her to the ground on her stomach she would be most vulnerable like that. She wouldn't be able to fight back if he pinned her that way. He grabbed her shoulders and took the both of them down to the forest floor again. She hit on her side and Hesh quickly tried to roll her to her stomach but she rolled quickly with him, messing him up and leaving her on her back once again.

Having no choice but to go with this new position he tried to get a few disorienting hits on her. She caught his fists and flipped them, just like he had done earlier. Now he was on his back but War didn't immediately go to punch him. With her left hand she grabbed his throat and applied a lot of pressure. Hesh choked slightly and tried using both his hands to pull off the harsh grip, but War wasn't letting go. He didn't see what she was reaching for at first with her free hand.

His eyes widened as War lifted a fairly large rock above her head with her right hand, as if she was going to strike him. Her eyes burned but what scared him most was the fact that they where unfocused. She wasn't all _there._ With a rock that size and War' strength she could easily kill him. Now he was fighting for his life. He desperately pried at her hand, but when that proved futile he reached his hand up towards War, trying to block the rock.

He watched as War's eyes suddenly went wide. She jumped off and away from him, as if she was burned. She scrambled away from him, putting a few feet of distance between them. Hesh sat up quickly and filled his lungs with some much needed air. He brought a hand up to his neck to rub his bruised throat. He looked over at War with his blue eyes. He was...shocked. She was going to kill him. She was going to smash his head in with that rock.

She looked just as surprised as he was. She was panting and starring at him wide eyed. Hesh eyed the large rock that was still in her hand. Her knuckles where white from how hard she was hanging onto it. "Drop the rock..." His harsh voice surprised her for a moment. She looked at the rock and then back to him.

"Drop. The. Rock." He growled.

War tossed the rock away from her. Back into the river actually. She shook her head slowly. "I didn't mean to do that..." She said quietly.

Hesh didn't say anything. He just sat there, panting, like a dog. His sister, the one he loved, the one he tried to protect, the one he had just fought with like a dumbass...almost smashed his head in with a rock.

"They taught me to do that..." She brought her knees up and rested her arms on them. "They taught me to do that..." She repeated it quieter the second time. She leaned forward and rested her forehead onto her knees, hiding her face from Hesh. She couldn't look at him.

Hesh remembered his father talking to him about how he had seen War when she was eleven years old club a Beta MES to death with a rock. They trained them to do that. To fight with anything they could find. They had been taught that the only unfair fight is the one you loose. It wasn't entirely War's fault. She was just doing what she was trained to do. Win. Even if it meant killing her brother.

War stood up suddenly and turned her back to Hesh. He was afraid for a moment she was going to leave but she didn't. She just stared out at the river. "They let me pick...Did I ever tell you that?"

He wasn't sure what she was talking about but he didn't dare speak. For fear that she would stop talking, or get angry, or simply storm off and leave him there.

"They told me I could pick whatever member I wanted for my team. Me and Brooklyn got to pick the new members. We where the originals. CC was a close friend of mine. He was real clever and witty. Sometimes when some Betas would challenge us he would just come up with some witty response that would send them walking off embarrassed. We didn't even need to fight them. Kind of one of those jack of all traits, you know?"

Hesh still said nothing. Not wanting to interrupt. She _never _talked about CC before. She just tried to forget and move on. You couldn't do that. He'd tried but it never worked. The best way to honor someone was by remembering them. She turned back around to face him. He felt a pang of guilt when he saw the blood trickle down her face.

"I fucking hate you."

Hesh was caught off guard. He straightened up slightly, his eyes going wide. His mouth opened but no words came out. He simply sat there, dumbfounded. He shook his head and stood up. "You don't mean that..."

"I don't need you. I don't need Elias. I don't need anyone."

Hesh walked over to her shaking his head harder this time. "No! War," he grabbed her shoulders. "I'm sorry. Your frustrated with me. I get it. But don't take it out on everyone else. Your trying to bare all the weight on you shoulders but you can't-"

She shoved him away. "Shut up Hesh! I've heard all of it before! I don't need you to fucking-"

"War! Hesh!"

They both turned to see Logan walk out of the trees. His green eyes, all to similar to War's, widened when he saw the condition they where both in. It didn't take a genius to guess what had happened. It was clear the two had fought. Both War and Hesh where covered in blood. How the hell was he supposed to explain that? He quickly came between the two, like he usually did.

"Logan-" Hesh tried but his younger brother shook his head.

"We need to get back. Semper is still traumatized and-"

"Semper got hurt?" War looked at Hesh. "Semper gets hurt and you come to talk to me about _my _fucking problems?" She lunged at him but Logan held her back "You son of a bitch Hesh! You fucking cocksucker!" Logan grabbed her and pulled her away from Hesh who simply stood shocked. "Get the fuck off of me!" She tried to break out of Logan's grip but he pressed his forehead to her's trying to clam her down.

"War, War, stop, stop," He looked into her green eyes with his own. She looked at him for a moment before pushing him away and shouldering past Hesh, heading back to the base.

The two Walker boys watched as she walked away. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Thing's where supposed to be better with them here. Hesh felt his eyes watering slightly. She hated him? She didn't mean that...did she?

"We should go," Logan said softly. "Everything will be ok Hesh. You'll see."

* * *

Logan sighed heavily as he walked down the hallway. Hesh and War fought a lot but never like this. They had been bruised and bloody, and hateful words had been exchanged. He needed to just take a walk and clear his head. Why did everything have to be so difficult? Everyone was so stressed with this killer on the loose. He needed to just take a walk and clear his head.

It was late. Everyone was asleep by now. At least, almost everyone. Hesh had been lying in his bunk staring at the ceiling. The thousand yard stare, as most soldiers called it. War, however, had just gone straight to bed. She didn't care. She was so agitated at the world. Agitated at Hesh. How was he supposed to fix this? He was the peace keeper between the two but damn. He took another deep breath.

The hallways where dimmed at night so they wouldn't disturb others while they slept. Logan didn't care. He welcomed the darkness. He was a Ghost after all. Darkness was his element. He really didn't want anyone to see him like this anyway.

He suddenly got an uneasy feeling. He felt like he was being watched. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go out by himself. Maybe he should have brought Hesh with him. He jerked around quickly, looking behind him. Nothing. He sighed. Everything was starting to get to him. Make him paranoid. The whole situation was playing tricks on him.

He walked outside to get some fresh air but made sure he stayed near the door. The light from the door shone out into the darkness, allowing him to see about ten feet out in either direction. He leaned against the side wall of the base and took a deep, relaxing breath. No wonder War ran off to the woods all the time. He couldn't blame her.

He opened his eyes when he heard some movement. He jumped and reached for his knife. His eyes scanned the area around him. Searching for any sign of movement. There was nothing. Nothing but the moon and the stars. He shook his head. Must be hearing things. He sighed and put his knife away again.

That proved to be a mistake. As soon as the blade was out of sight he felt like he was struck by a brick wall. The blow came from his right, sending him sharply onto his side. He tried to call out but a hand was clasped tightly over his mouth, another snaking around his throat. He was pulled backwards into someone's chest. He was jerked into the darkness, away from the door.

"Shhhh...settle down now Logan." The voice made his stomach twist into knots. He felt sick. Like he was going to throw up. He tried to thrash but the man's grip was too tight. He could already feel his neck beginning to bruise.

He felt lips press to the shell of his ear. "You just _love _getting into trouble, don't you boy?" Logan let out a muffled string of words that only made the man laugh. He was pulled further and further away from the base. "You Ghost's thought you where so clever. Choosing to hide out in a place like this. I applaud you for that."

He applied more pressure, causing Logan's vision to begin to fade. He tried to show this by tugging on the man's forearm but it did him no good. He was tossed harshly to the ground, smashing into stones and stray branches. I tried to cry out again, but a boot was pushed into his throat. He gasped as the crushing force came down on his wind pipe. Any harder and he was certain it would have snapped his neck.

Now he found himself face to face with Rorke. The man sighed, leaning down closer to his face. "Logan, Logan, Logan," he tsked. "Wasn't your father's number one rule to never go off alone?" He chided as if speaking to a child.

Logan tried to speak but found that he couldn't. He could barely breath as it was. "What's the matter? Gone quiet on me?" He mocked. He knew Logan didn't talk much. He removed his foot, allowing the boy to speak finally.

"W-what do you w-want?" His voice came out soft and weak, like he was afraid. He certainly wasn't.

"What I've wanted from the beginning. The Ghost's dead and you and War as my prize. However, I could settle with you being dead too," he playfully pressed his gun to Logan's head, taunting him. Logan shut his eyes and tried to move his head away. Just as suddenly as it was there, it was gone. "No, trust me. I would wait to kill you in front of your big brother."

"Your a sick twisted man Rorke..." Logan spat. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to get caught by this man. This sick twisted fuck. "Putting a fucking body in a little girls room. Skinning a man and cutting out his heart!"

Rorke couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic boy in front of him. He thought _he _had done all that? My, my, this would be interesting. The poor fool. He had no idea what was going on. Not that it mattered much to Rorke anymore. He had his prize. The youngest Walker boy. Oh how the mighty have fallen. He hadn't even been a challenge to snatch. Wonder how his old man would take it?

He knelt down and grabbed his jaw, lifting his head up to look a him. "You have so much to learn my boy..."

**Uh oh! War and Hesh are fighting, Logan has just been kidnapped, and it turns out Rorke isn't responsible? What are they going to do now? Sorry I checked my schedule for tomorrow and I wouldn't have time to write my story. So I hauled ass and completed it tonight :) Enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well I was once again able to update this weekend. I didn't think I would be able to so I was happy I was able to do so. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

War stood in the back of the war room, leaning against the wall. She wasn't really paying attention to Merrick. But seriously? No one ever did. Her thoughts where on Logan. Had her brother really left them? Was the stress of dealing with her and Hesh enough to drive him away? No, Logan would never leave them like that. He was still declared MIA as of now. Her and the other Alphas had been searching everywhere for him. They had tacked his scent outside but it was lost in the forest. The scent of other animals had blocked it out.

"War? Did you hear me?"

She looked over at Merrick who was staring right at her. Everyone else was looking at her too. Hesh seemed to be the most concerned but she didn't bother to look at him. She pushed off the wall and took a few steps closer but still hung in the back. She looked Merrick in the eyes before giving him a slight nod, urging him to continue.

"As I was saying," he started again slowly. He was still concerned about her. "We need to figure out the situation here first. If we find whoever is doing this I have a feeling we'll find Logan."

"We have nothing to go on though," Connor stated. They hadn't been able to pick up a scent or identify any of the gas that was used. They checked the tapes but they kept getting altered. Security couldn't find out why. They thought there might be a virus or something of the sort. They felt trapped. They couldn't do anything.

"Have they identified the gas yet?" Smithey asked. Merrick shook his head. "The hazard team has been trying to figure it out but they have no more contaminated material to work with to narrow it down."

Smithey sighed. "I'm certain that if we can figure it out, we will be that much close to figuring this out."

War perked slightly. "You think all they need is more contaminated material to work with?"

Everyone glanced back at her again. Merrick raised an eyebrow. "They had it narrowed down to a few possible options but they ran out of material to work with. But yes, if they had more to work with I believe that they could figure out what was used to gas you and Brooklyn. Why?"

War glanced over at Brooklyn. She walked over and hooked her arm around his shoulders. The older boy looked at her in confusion. "You got two specimens right here, Merrick," she smiled.

"We already used your clothes," Merrick said.

"Not our clothes," War said. "Our lungs."

"Your lungs?"

Brooklyn looked at her, finally understanding what she was talking about. "You could use our lung tissue to find the gas. We weren't gassed that long ago so there should be remnants still in the walls on our lungs."

"I'm not a doctor or anything but don't you need your lungs to breath?" Lake asked, not sounding very convinced.

War nodded. "Yes, but we can just take a chunk from the inside."

"I don't see how we can do that without putting a hole in your lungs," Merrick said.

"I do," Brooklyn confessed. "I've heard of it being done before. We'll need to stick a tube down the windpipe so everything filters straight to the lungs. We pour some erodent acid into the lung. It'll break down the inside of the walls. You then swallow a bunch of water, which also filters to your lungs. It causes you to cough violently, and hopefully, cough it all up. Your then left with samples of the lung."

"Is it safe?" Smithey asked.

Brooklyn shrugged slightly. "There are some possible altercations. For starters the acid could continue to burn until it has completely eroded your lungs, causing you to suffocate. Or you don't cough everything up from the water and you drown. The process could also cause vomiting but because of the tube the vomit can't escape so they end up drowning in that as well. There is also a good chance it won't even work in the end."

"I don't like it," Hesh said. "It's too risky."

"I'm gonna have to agree with Hesh on this one, War," Merrick said. "It's too much of a risk."

War shook her head, stepping forward. "We have to try. You said it yourself, if we identify the gas we will be that much closer to catching this guy. Brooklyn knows what he's doing. We'll use my lungs and Brooklyn can get the sample. We have to try. It'll work."

Everyone seemed nervous about this. No one really wanted to risk War's or Brooklyn's life on a sample that may not even work in the first place. Hesh was very much against it. He had already lost Logan. He didn't want to loose War in something as stupid as an experiment. What if her lungs eroded? Or she drowned? Or something else went wrong.

"How do you know it will work?" Hesh asked.

War turned and looked at him. "Your just going to have to trust me."

"War, Brooklyn. Are you confident enough to give this a try?" Merrick asked.

War nodded. "Yes. I trust Brooklyn with my life."

"Well that's good because you pretty much just put it in my hands," he joked lightly. War smiled at him and wrapped an arm around him again. "What are we waiting for? Let's get this shit done!"

* * *

"I'm beginning to have second thoughts on this," Merrick sighed as he watched Brooklyn set up.

"You know," War started. "I find that when you don't overthink things, everything turns out fine."

Merrick rolled his eyes. "You're such a liar."

"Hey, you believed me when I said I was sure this would work."

Hesh spit out the water he had nervously been drinking, causing the other three to look at him. "_You_ don't even think it'll work?"

War shrugged. "Leap before you think."

"Oh God..."

Brooklyn was double checking to make sure that he had everything set up correctly. He had the small tube that he could insert into War's airway that led to her lungs, he had the bottle of acid, he had the dropper for the acid, he had plenty of water, and he had two bucket for her to cough/vomit into. "I think we're ready," Brooklyn said.

"Alright let's do this," War said. She hopped up onto the infirmary bed.

Brooklyn picked up the tube and started to gently push it down War's throat. She gagged a few time but she managed to relax her throat and let it pass. The tube was fairly long but it was short enough to stop just behind War's front teeth. That's how they knew it was in all the way. "You doing alright War?" Brooklyn asked. War gave him a thumbs up to continue. "I'm putting in the acid next. It's going to have to sit for about thirty seconds before you start chugging the water, ok?" War once again gave the thumbs up.

Brooklyn filled the dropper with the acid. Once this stuff hit tissue it would activate. Hesh was growing very nervous. He was _really_ against this idea. This was the part that scared him. Brooklyn sent the liquid acid down the tube. He looked down at his watch to time the thirty seconds. Almost immediately War began to show signs of discomfort. She squirmed slightly and couldn't seem to sit still. She reached her hand towards the tube for a moment but she stopped herself. Hesh just wanted this thirty seconds to be over. It felt like a lifetime.

Brooklyn pushed the bucket closer to War. He was still watching the clock for a few more seconds before he finally handed the first water bottle to War. He began to ready the next one. War downed it quickly but instead of coughing she started to convulse as if she would throw up. "War! Don't you dare vomit!" Brooklyn ordered sternly.

"Pull the tube out!" Hesh said urgently.

"I can't! She needs to cough up the water or she'll drown!"

"She'll drown either way!"

War held her hand up to stop the argument. The convulsing had slowed, signaling she had it under control. They still needed her to cough though. That was the new problem. Hesh could tell the acid was burning her. It couldn't stay in for more than two minutes or her lungs would be destroyed. Half of that time was already gone. "War, we need you to cough," Hesh said desperately. Another grueling thirty seconds passed before she began to trembled. She was coughing. Brooklyn grabbed the first bucket and held it up to her mouth. Tremor after tremor raked through her body before she finally started to cough violently.

She dipped forward and coughed up the water and, what Hesh assumed, was lung tissue. Brooklyn immediately put the bucket down and grabbed the bigger one. He held it up to War and reached into her mouth. He pulled out the tube slowly so he wouldn't hurt War. Although he was sure War just wanted it ripped out quickly. Once the tube was removed she began to vomit.

Brooklyn stepped back and picked up the smaller bucket with the tissue in it. Moving it out of the way so it wouldn't be contaminated. "You ok War?" He asked. She kept her head in the bucket but gave him a thumbs up anyway.

"You don't sound to good," Brooklyn stated with a slight smile. She dropped to her knees onto the floor and threw up some more. Finally, she had emptied the contents on her stomach and she just proceeded to dry heave. After another few minutes of that she moved the bucket and allowed her body to fall to it's side. "Damn, that sucked," she coughed out.

Brooklyn chuckled slightly. "Would you ever do that again?"

War shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

Merrick walked over and took the bucket from Brooklyn. "I'll get this to the lab, see what they find."

That left just Hesh and Brooklyn with War. She laid on the floor on her side weakly. Seemingly unable to move. She curled up slightly and Hesh couldn't help but feel bad for her. He gently brushed some hair out of her face. War was still agitated with him but she was too weak to protest. She was actually starting to shake, which made both Hesh and Brooklyn concerned. Brooklyn walked over and grabbed a stethoscope from a drawer. "I'm gonna listen to your lungs, War." She didn't even respond.

Brooklyn figured it was because the procedure had physically drained her. He put the cool metal under War's shirt and listened to how she was breathing. It was slightly off but he figured that was because she had just wore herself out with the vomiting and coughing. "She's just tired. She needs to rest."

"I really don't feel like moving," she groaned.

Brooklyn lightly patted her shoulder before turning and putting the stethoscope away. He knelt down next to her and began to pick her up. He hooked his arms around her and coaxed her into a standing position. She stood up and rolled her eyes at him. She hated it when Brooklyn helped her but he always just ignored her.

"Come on, lets get you back to your room."

* * *

"I'm telling you, I smell something," Sienna repeated.

"Yeah I heard you for the billionth time," Talon said with an eye roll.

Don sighed as the two began to argue again over this supposed 'smell.' Who the hell cared? Honestly all he could smell was cleaning supplies, most likely because of the cleaning crew. He sighed and continued to just listen to the argument. He wondered if he should go check on Connor and Lake. Those two where likely to get into trouble with Merrick gone.

"It's coming from there." Don looked over to see Sienna pointing at someone's room. He took another whiff but once again all he could smell was cleaning supplies. "What is it your smelling?" he asked her.

"Don't you smell it?"

"Yeah it smells like someone dumped Bleach and God knows what else everywhere," Talon growled.

"Exactly! Doesn't that bug you? It just doesn't seem right..." Sienna said. Don rolled his eyes at the younger Alpha. She was just paranoid. She took everything as suspicious. There could be a scuff on the wall and she would be drawing conclusions like War always did. "Maybe we should knock and see if everything's alright-"

"Absolutely not! Your just going to end up bugging some poor soldier who's probably just trying to sleep," Talon said sternly.

"She's right, Sienna. They probably where just cleaning up a mess they made. That's why the smell is so concentrated," Don tried to reason. Sienna however didn't seem convinced. Seriously? She couldn't except that as an answer? It was mid day so there probably wasn't anyone in there anyway. And if there was they where probably asleep. There would be absolutely no point in bothering whoever lived here. It was a waste of time.

"Seriously you guys! Something isn't right," she urged.

Don let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine," he gestured to the door. "Knock yourself out. But don't come crying to us when you end up pissing someone off."

Sienna rolled her eyes. She _knew _something was wrong. She could feel it in her gut, and she always trusted her gut. She walked up to the door and knocked as politely as possible, not wanting to be rude. She waited a few moments but she heard no movement from behind the door. Maybe they where sleeping. She knocked a little louder this time, sounding a little more urgent. Again, there was no movement whatsoever.

"Hello? Is everything alright?" She called, knocking for the third time.

"Come on Sienna, no one is there," Don said. If there wasn't an insane killer running around he probably would have just walked away and left her there. He was sure Talon would do the same. It actually looked as if she still _would _do that, even now.

He assumed Sienna would give up and continue on with them, so it caught him off guard a little bit when she pulled a hair pin out of her hair. Was she seriously going to pick the damn lock? "Sienna come on," he groaned.

"This is so stupid, your just gonna piss someone off," Talon said. She didn't sound as upset as he was though when she said that. Hell, she probably _wanted _to fight with someone. That must be why she stuck around. She was bored.

Sienna knelt down and began working on the lock. All the Alphas knew how to pick a lock. It was a pretty basic skill that everyone had. Well, everyone but Connor. He had no fucking clue how to pick a lock. He had even tried to teach the kid but he could never grasp the concept. Even sweet little Semper could pick a lock. Connor had always told him that any lock worth picking was worth kicking. Too bad that never worked for him.

_Click_

The sound of the door unlocking broke him from his thoughts. He watched as Sienna opened the door and stepped into the room. The other two followed her to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. The room was dark so Talon began groping for a light switch. The smell was defiantly a lot stronger now.

The lights flipped on, making everything visible. The room was pretty big actually. Bigger than the standard room. Was this some high ranking officer? They were so fucked if it was. It almost seemed like it was an apartment or something. There was a small living room that had a couch and a TV. It also had a little coffee table in it. There was a mug of coffee sitting on the table. Don picked it up, it was cold. It had been here a while. "Damn, this is a lot nicer than my room," Talon commented. No shit.

They wondered into the next room, which was the kitchen slash dinning area. There was a small table that could fit two people. There was a fridge right next to a small stove and oven. The cupboards where stocked up. The kitchen sink was still full of dirty dishes though. That was kind of odd. The place reeked of cleaning supplies yet there was still dirty dishes.

He glanced around at the hardwood floor and realized they had been scrubbed with various cleaners. The table, the floors, he noted that a few rugs seemed to be missing as well. There was a slightly less faded area on the floor which he assumed was from the presence of a rug. But where was the rug?

"It's stronger from the bathroom," Sienna said.

Don was getting a very uneasy feeling now. Maybe Sienna was right. Something was wrong. Now worried about the younger Alpha's safety he gently stepped in front of her, heading to the door first. "Stay behind me," he said. He walked closer to the bathroom door. His heart rate was increasing rapidly. He gripped the handle and opened to door quickly incase someone was in there.

"Oh no..." Talon mumbled.

"Sienna get back," Don said sternly. She took a few steps back but positioned herself so she could see past both Talon and Don into the bathroom. There was a bathtub on the far side of the small room but that's not what concerned him. What concerned him was the fact that a trash bag had been stretched over the top of the tub and duct taped down. Now it all was starting to click. The dirty dishes, the clean floor, the overpowering stench of cleaners.

He approached the tub slowly, Talon right behind him. Sienna did what she was told and hung back. Don was now right in front of the tub. He glanced back at Talon who gave him a reassuring nod to continue. He slowly put his hand on the lip of the tub. He fingered the plastic of the trash bag for a moment. In one swift motion he jerked the bag off the bathtub.

The sudden smell almost knocked him out. With the trash bag now removed nothing was keeping back the decayed smell of flesh. In the tub was a women, completely stripped naked. Or at least, what was _left _of the women. Her head was still in decent shape, and an arm that had floated to the top of the water. He couldn't say the same for the rest of her though. That was why the smell of cleaners was so strong. Someone had killed this women and tried to destroy the body be filling the tub with corrosive cleaning products.

The tub was filled with blood and half destroyed body parts. Organs and other tissues where floating to the top of the bloody mess. He could see the women's ribs clearly, the cleaners had certainly been doing the trick thus far. He felt like he was standing there for hours but it had only been a few seconds. The sudden release of smell forced him and Talon to run from the bathroom and slam the door shut. They gasped for clean air and Talon gagged a few times. Sienna was completely shocked, never seeing a technique like that used to dispose of a body.

Don bent over and put his hands on his knees. The smell seemed to have been released into the whole room now that the makeshift cover was off the tub. Damn that was nasty. He spit up a little bit on the floor. Sienna ran over to him and rested her hand on his back. "What do you want me to do? Tell me what you need me to do."

He gagged a few more times before looking up to her. "Go get Smithey."

**ECK! That's disgusting. Things are starting to escalate a bit. The murders becoming more frequent. It's only a matter of time before one of the Alphas get hurt. They still have no way of finding out who this killer is. Nobody knows what has happened to Logan either. Tensions are getting high and War and Hesh still aren't getting along very well. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I managed to type up yet another chapter today. My next update may take longer so you'll have to be patient. I hope you guys enjoy!**

Smithey cringed as he looked at the scene. Don and Talon had enough sense to try and air out the bathroom so the smell wasn't as overpowering. None of the hazard crew members had been able to stand in there long enough without vomiting. Smithey, on the other hand, was one of the few Alphas that was fine in gory situations like this. War was as well, due to the fact she was originally programed in torture techniques, and Sienna also seemed to be alright. That was probably because back in training she would sometimes help War during interrogation.

That's not to say scenes like this didn't bother him. They always bothered him. Just not to the extent of the others. He was the only one in the bathroom, everyone else choosing to hang back and inspect the rest of the crime scene. The woman turned out to be General Trudy Whiteman, she had come to help assist the Ghost's in the California area where most of her troops were. It was a tough pill to swallow. A famous General had just been murdered here.

The only thing distinguishable was her head that had jutted out of the water. The rest of her body had been eaten away. There wasn't anything he could do though, unfortunately. He looked around at everything else in the room, looking for any other clues. The door caught his eye. He moved it so he could see the sink that had been behind it. There was a note stuck to the mirror. Strange. he reached up and plucked it from where it was.

_Even though you all stay together, I can still weed you out. There is nothing you can do to hide from me. No one is safe. I will continue to mercilessly pick your teammates off one by one. I'm done with these warnings. From now on all the Alphas better watch their backs. All of this can be avoided however, if War is left to me. I would weigh your options carefully. I know how you operate. The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few. _

Smithey growled lowly under his breath. He didn't like threats. They where cowardly. His team, his _family, _had just been directly threatened. Not to mention the note asked for War directly. Was this the Federation? Or some other unknown enemy. He clenched his fists, crinkling the note slightly. They wanted a fight? Just wait till he caught this guy. He would unleash hell on them. Then, once he was done, he'd let War torture him. It's what she did best even if she barely ever got to do it.

He walked out of the room and straight over to Don, Talon, and Sienna. "What's going on?" Don asked. Smithey said nothing, simply handing him the note. Sienna and Talon both read over his shoulder, curious as to what it said. He could see the shock and complete outrage on their faces. They where just as upset as he was. No surprise there. "Unbelievable!" Talon hissed.

"We aren't doing what this sick fuck wants. He's not coming near War or any one of us," Don growled.

"Can you get a scent off anything?" Sienna asked, knowing that Smithey's scene of smell was better than theirs due to the fact he was older. Smithey shook his head no. "To much cleaner."

He noticed some of the other soldiers where looking at them suspiciously. Trying to figure out what they where talking among themselves about. Smithey jerked his head towards the door, signaling them to walk with him. They left the area and began walking down the hallways, trying to keep the conversation between themselves.

"So who's gonna tell War?" Don questioned.

Smithey sighed. "I think it would be best if we didn't say anything to her about this note."

"Seriously? Your not going to tell her?"

"As of now? No."

"What about Hesh?" Sienna asked.

"Especially not Hesh. He's a mess already. If he read this he would go crazy," Smithey said.

"So we lie and keep this to ourselves?" Sienna clearly didn't like the idea of lying to the others.

Don sighed. "Sienna, sometimes you have to lie to protect the ones you love."

"Well put," Talon said.

"Hey!"

They all turned around and saw a few soldiers heading towards them. They stopped and waited for the soldiers to approach. "Sorry to bug you but we need your help back at the scene, sir," one of them said to Smithey. He sighed and looked at the other three. "Alright, we're coming." Talon and Don both groaned but began to follow the soldier. Smithey however stopped Sienna in her tracks and handed her the note. "Go find Merrick and give that to him, I need to think something over for a little while." Sienna nodded and took the note, shoving it into her pocket.

She continued by herself down the hallway. She was sure they where done in the infirmary so now she just needed to find Merrick. She decided to go check out the war room first. He was usually there. She tried there first due to the fact it wasn't very far. Upon entering she realized she just made a _big_ mistake when she saw Hesh reading over some files. He was defiantly _not _who she wanted to see.

He glanced up from what he was reading and smiled at her. "Hey, Sienna. What are you up to?" Sienna gave a slight shrug. "Nothing really. Do you know where Merrick is?" It came out a little more urgently then she intended it to. Hesh raised an eyebrow. No one usually asked for Merrick unless something was going on. Hesh stood from his chair. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just need to speak with him."

Hesh looked at her for a moment. "Sienna, you know you can tell me anything."

Sienna really did want to tell Hesh. She felt he had a right to know. But Smithey was right. It would just upset him further and they needed Hesh focused. "Never mind, I'll find him." She turned to leave so she could quickly get out of the situation and avoid the conversation. "Wait!" Hesh stopped her before she reached the door. She looked into his worried blue eyes. "Are you hurt?" Hurt? She looked down and realized her arm was cradling her side pocket where the note was stuffed. It looked as if she was cradling an injured side. Hesh gently reached for her hand but she moved away.

"Don't worry, everything's fine," she tried to persuade him that everything was ok. What was the point? He'd find out about it anyway. "Are you sure? I have medical training, I can take a look at it," Hesh said. He was worried. Sienna didn't usually act like this. Was she hiding something? "I just need to find Merrick," she said quickly. She walked out the door and shut it behind her, leaving Hesh in there alone. Poor guy. She felt bad for him.

Where else would Merrick be? His room? She didn't want to barge in there and wake him up. That thought however was quickly driven from her head when she heard a very loud crash.

"Son of a bitch! Are you fucking kidding me!?"

She heard Merrick's voice booming down the hallway. Wow. He was _extremely _angry. She could hear him all the way from here. She knew where the sound came from. The rec room. Why did she feel like she was going to walk into some sort of brawl? She walked a little quicker when she heard the noises getting louder. She opened the door to see both Connor and Lake starring wide eyed at Merrick.

She quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together. There was an empty bucket on the floor next to Merrick and Merrick was soaking wet. Clearly Lake and Connor thought they had devised a cleaver trick but it had obviously failed. The only thing keeping Merrick away from them was one of the card tables. She was pretty sure that wouldn't help them out though.

"Oh come on! Can't you take a joke?" Connor tried to reason.

"You two are the most irresponsible, immature,-!"

She cleared her throat loudly so she could get their attention. Merrick turned and looked at her, his eyes softening a bit when he saw it was her. She always made sure she was on his good side for this exact reason. "Am I interrupting something?" She asked. She looked from Lake to Connor and back to Merrick again. "I could always come back."

"Now's a great time!" Lake smiled from where he was.

"You two hush!" He snapped at them. He walked over to Sienna and put a damp hand on her shoulder. "What's up?" She dug into her pocket and pulled out the note. She handed it to him slowly. He looked at her for a moment and raised an eyebrow. He read it over, his eyes widening as he read.

"Oh god...What happened now?"

* * *

Sienna sat on the bed and watched as Brooklyn and Smithey urgently whispered to one another. Not like it really mattered because they all had exceptional hearing. Don, Talon, Lake, Smithey, Semper, Connor, Brooklyn, and herself where all gathered in Smithey's room. From what she had gathered, Smithey and Brooklyn where talking about brining another Alpha here. Question was, who where they talking about?

"You know, the purpose of a meeting is to speak to _everyone_, not sit around and gossip like a bunch of school girls," Lake said from where he was leaned up against the wall. Brooklyn sighed and looked at Smithey, gesturing for him to speak. Smithey scratched at the back of his head.

"I assume you've all read the note?" Everyone nodded that they had. "Well, the threat is mostly directed towards War as you all know. I feel like it may be in War's best interest if we brought in...Frost."

Sienna's jaw dropped. Frost? They where going to bring him here? That was a terrible idea! And it was clear she wasn't the only one who thought that. "Are you fucking stupid!?" Talon growled. She was standing on her feet now. "Your going to bring him back into the picture now?"

Smithey sighed. "I know it's not the best idea but-"

"Damn straight! It's a terrible idea," Don argued. "Talon's right. We can't bring him into this. War wouldn't want him here."

"I know she wouldn't want him here but for her safety it would be best that he was here," Smithey said.

"It's just going to make thing's worse," Sienna said. "I know War, and Frost is the last person she want's to see."

"Actually I'd say Hesh ranks pretty high up there," Lake mumbled. Talon smacked him in the back of the head. Giving him a warning glare not to push his luck.

"What makes you think we need Frost to protect her? You don't have faith in us?" Connor asked.

Smithey looked at Brooklyn who gave a light shrug. "Frost was programmed for situations like this."

"And we aren't!?" Talon snapped. Sienna sighed and rubbed her eyes. Sometimes Talon got overly aggressive over stupid little things like this. She could see where Brooklyn and Smithey where coming from. Yes, Frost was programed for these types of things. He was the oldest and he was damn good at his job.

"I think maybe...We should give him a chance," she sighed. Brooklyn gave her a smile. Silently thanking her for the support.

"All he is, is a fucking mercenary," Talon growled.

"Talon, Frost is a highly trained expert at this. He's one of the highest ranking 'Sheep Dogs' we know."

"Yeah, but War hates him. With a passion." She argued.

"Her feelings have to be put off to the side for now. Her safety is our main concern. Frost can watch over things," Smithey said.

Frost was a very controversial character within the group. He was classified as what's known as a 'Sheep Dog.' The Sheep Dogs where called many different things but that was the proper term. Sheep Dogs where the protectors of the group. They where very well trained in reading people. There was no point in lying to them because they always knew when you lied. They read body language like it was a book. Frost had actually been helpful in a few of War's interrogations. They where really good with all they Phycology crap and predicting what people would do based off their bio.

She had really liked Frost. He was a nice guy. The problem was he knew _everything _about you. He studied _everything _you did. He got very over protective of War, causing her hatred for him. Similar with what was going on between her and Hesh right now. Except it was worse because even when War bottled everything up like she usually did he could still read her and tell what was going on. It actually kind of got annoying. Another thing that concerned her was how Frost and Hesh would get along. Not very well. It didn't take a Sheep Dog to predict that.

Frost got his name from his appearance. He had very bright blue eyes that where almost hypnotizing to look at. He was also very pale. _Very _pale. On top of that he had white hair. Of course he hadn't been born that way. They wanted to try and make a soldier able to survive freezing climates. They had tried to make him blend into the snow and make it so the cold had no effect on him. As a result he was left with very pale skin, white hair, and unnaturally cold skin. The experiment did kind of work though. The cold didn't bother him.

She was willing to have him come here though if it meant keeping everyone safe. She didn't want any of her friends, her _family, _ending up like that poor General. They all had to make sacrifices for each other and this would have to be one of them.

"I say we give it a try," Semper said, finally speaking up.

Talon shook her head. "I say no." She crossed her arms defiantly.

Smithey clicked his tongue off the roof of his mouth, looking at Talon for a moment. Sienna was slightly afraid there would be a fight so she was readying herself for the possible rumble. However, neither one of them lunged at each other. Smithey just looked at her. "I don't care."

Talon narrowed her eyes but couldn't keep the look of shock off her face. Smithey was usually a pretty fair person. He always listened to what everyone had to say and took everyone's opinions into account. Now he had just completely blew her off. He had bluntly said to her that her opinion didn't matter.

"Me and Brooklyn talked it over. This is what is happening. We are calling Frost tonight. He will be here tomorrow. I don't care if you love him or hate him. You _will _respect him. Understood?" Everyone nodded. Talon huffed and stormed out of the room. Sienna watched her go, Don going after her. The others simply stayed where they were. No body really felt like moving.

"So, I'm just going to straight up ask, because I feel like no one has addressed this yet...Where's Rose?" Lake asked throwing them completely off topic to ease the tension.

Smithey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I made the fatal mistake of letting her look around on her own."

With Rose you had to be _very _specific on what you ordered her to do. She wouldn't be surprised if Rose was crawling around through the walls or something. She would investigate every crack and every crevasse she came across. There wouldn't be a single area on base that she didn't know about. When she said she was going to look around, that was code for 'I will memorize this place from top to bottom.'

"So are we going to tell Merrick about this?" Semper asked.

Smithey nodded. "We have to tell them."

Brooklyn walked over and sat next to Sienna. "Hey, thanks for backing me up. I appreciate you supporting our decision." She smiled at him and playfully punched his shoulder. "No problem. I always got your back."

He smiled and ruffled her hair up a bit. "It was never the same without you little sis."

"Hey, I'm not little anymore. I'm sixteen."

"And I'm nineteen. I think we know who won here." He stuck his tongue out at her. He always rubbed being older than her in her face. She rolled her eyes at him and playfully flipped him off. Smithey smiled and shook his head. "Come on Brooklyn, we better go." Brooklyn followed Smithey out of the room, leaving her, Semper, Connor, and Lake there.

"What do you guys think?" She asked.

Lake shrugged. "I don't see any good coming from this."

Connor nodded his agreement. "Same."

Semper sighed. "I think we should give Frost a chance."

Sienna sighed as well and laid down on her back. "I just want everything to turn out ok...For once."

**Two Chapters in one day! Man! Hopefully you guys enjoyed getting to know the other characters again. I wanted to put the spotlight on some of the other Alphas a bit there. So more threats are coming. A General is dead. And it appears we have another character coming. How will this go with War and Hesh? Will Frost be able to help them? Or will he just make things worse? The team is already divided. What will be the end result?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry guys. I had a HUGE writers block while working on this :/ I probably re-wrote it about seven times. I feel like it could have been stronger, but hopefully it meets everyone's expectations. OH! Also I have some big news. I made a Twitter and a Tumblr account based off this account so you guys can follow me on either one to see images of the characters. Mind you that these are images I collected off of Google Images and are my best interpretation of what the characters look like. I thought it would be cool to give you guys a visual. Yes, I know a few are celebrities. I didn't want it to turn out that way but oh well. My Tumblr account has all the images. My Twitter account will give updates and quotes, and other stuff. My friend AmericanFirestorm has also made a Tumblr account showing Sienna's character. So if you want to check them out here are the usernames.**

**Tumblr: americasheroes10**

**Twitter: americasheroes1**

**AmericanFirestorm's Tumblr: americanfirestorm**

Hesh watched as War walked alongside him down the hallway. He tried to make it less obvious that he was staring at her. She hadn't been talking to him at all. She pretended he didn't exist. She never even spoke with him when they where in their room. When she had night terrors and he went to comfort her she would simply leave the room. His heart ached. He was loosing everyone. His brother and now his sister.

For some reason Brooklyn and Smithey wanted to see the two of them on the flight deck. God only knew why. He assumed it was another incident at first but that seemed unlikely since no one seemed to be around. He hadn't seen any of the other Alphas around, which made him slightly suspicious about what was going on. War was slightly ahead of him. Not wanting to walk too close to him. Not that he was surprised though. He expected it at this point.

Hesh saw Brooklyn and Smithey standing near a landing platform. The two where alone, no one else was in sight. Strange. War didn't seem to think anything of it though. She was just annoyed. It was probably a bad time for anyone to talk to her right now. Even her teammates. Her eyes where already glowing softly, which meant things would probably only escalate from here. She stood in front of the two older Alphas and crossed her arms. Hesh just looked at the two apologetically.

"What do you want?" War hissed. Getting straight to the point.

Hesh saw Brooklyn and Smithey exchange a look. Whatever it was, neither one of them really wanted to share. However, it seemed Brooklyn would be the one to start. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "War we are bringing another MES here," he started carefully. _Another_ MES? What for? He didn't know any other MES besides Segan. Was that who was coming?

War raised an eyebrow. Brooklyn's tone of voice instantly made her suspicious. "Why do I feel like there is something you aren't telling me?"

Smithey sighed. "We're getting to that."

"How about you cut the bullshit and tell me?" War snapped. Hesh saw the two, once more, exchange glances. He was starting to worry a little bit now. Why did they want to avoid telling her about this new MES? Did she knew them? Where they enemies or something?

"We called in a Sheep Dog," Smithey said.

Hesh cringed slightly as he saw War bare her teeth at the two. She took an aggressive step forward. Concerned that she may actually attack one of them, he grabbed her shoulder. She jerked away and glared at him before returning her scorn to the two older Alphas who had summoned them here.

"Why the hell would you bring a damn Sheep Dog? That's the _last _thing we need!" She snapped. "Send them back!"

Smithey narrowed his eyes. "I do _not _take orders from you. _You_ take orders from _me_."

"News flash," War growled. "Your not in charge of me."

"I'm not going to stand here and get in a power struggle with you," Smithey said. He took a deep breath to calm down. He was slowly beginning to loose his patients with War. "This is what's _going _to happen. Whether you like it or not." War crossed her arms but allowed Smithey to continue. "This SD is going to be staying here and helping out. He is going to be keeping an eye on everyone but more specifically he is going to be keeping an eye on you. I don't care if you don't like him. You will show Frost some respect-"

War's head snapped up. "Frost?" She dropped her arms and stepped towards him. "You just said Frost."

Smithey faltered for a moment. "I..." He cringed and shut his eyes tightly for a moment before uttering, "Fuck."

War's mouth was agape as she stared at the two. Her eyes wide with shock. She shook her head and took a few steps back. She almost looked physically ill. She glanced down at her boots for a moment. "How long?"

"Pardon?"

"How long till he gets here."

"A few minutes."

For the first time since the fight War looked at Hesh. It wasn't a very long look but it did the trick. She glared back at the two. "Why of all people would you bring him here?"

"He's the best War. Your safety comes first. End of discussion." Smithey said. He crossed his arms to prove he wasn't backing down from his decision. War rolled her eyes and turned her head. Not looking at either one of them. Brooklyn sighed and reached towards her. "War-"

"Get away from me," she jerked out of his reach and glared at the two. She almost looked...hurt. "You better not let him come near me...I swear to God this time I'll kill him..." With that she turned and shouldered past Hesh. This time? Hesh had some serious questions now. He looked at the two Alphas who now looked a little guilty.

"Who's Frost? A little insight would be great guys," Hesh growled.

Brooklyn sighed. "Frost is a Sheep Dog. Or what we call, 'protectors.' They watch over us while on missions to oversee everything we are doing. They're our eyes. They see everything that goes on. Like a sniper. Their great profilers too. That's why we feel that Frost would be a huge help here."

"So what's the issue between War and Frost?"

"Frost was always fascinated with War. He would always analyze her. Try to predict her movements. Get inside her head," Brooklyn sighed and shook his head. "You know War. It didn't go down well. She threatened him once and he told her that her profile didn't match someone that wouldn't attack a teammate without reason. Said she was mostly talk, and that people don't change." Brooklyn huffed and glanced up at the sky. "She laughed in his face and nearly strangled him to death. Me and Sienna had to pull her off."

Hesh sighed and rubbed his temples. He really didn't need this right now. He really didn't. "So then why would you-"

"Sir! Incoming helicopter!" A flight crewmen shouted out. Hesh could already hear the blades. He looked up to see a helicopter with the MES symbol on it. This would defiantly be an interesting morning. The helicopter landed and Hesh stood waiting for the man named Frost.

The door opened and a man jumped out. Hesh was a little caught off guard by his appearance. He had very pale skin for a soldier. Very pale. His hair looked almost as if it where bleached white. It was a sharp contrast to his ocean blue eyes. The man was not what he expected. He was a little taller than Hesh. Probably around Merrick's height. He was wearing jeans and a grey t-shirt.

"Hey Frost," Brooklyn greeted. "good to see you again."

The man smiled and shook both Smithey and Brooklyn's hands. "I wish it where under better circumstances. Nice to see you two again." Hesh felt Frost's blue eyes staring into him. Sizing him up. He began to feel slightly uncomfortable. "Who's this?"

"This is-"

"I'm David Walker. I go by Hesh. Nice to meet you," He reached out and shook Frost's hand. Frost examined Hesh for a moment. His eyes went up and down his body, taking in ever detail of the oldest Walker boy. It felt like hours to Hesh but it was only a few seconds. Frost released his hand and glanced at Brooklyn and Smithey. "Where's War?"

Brooklyn hesitated. "Well...you see she-"

"I can find her," Frost said. He began to walk towards the base.

"Actually you might not want to-"

There was no point in arguing. He was already inside the base. "Come on," Smithey said, going after him. After the mood War was in a confrontation wouldn't be a good thing right now. Hesh followed them back inside, walking quickly. Frost was highly trained so he could easily track War through her scent down the hallway. Hell, he probably didn't even need that.

They weren't far behind Frost as he continued down the halls. Hesh actually saw War before he heard her. She was talking to Sienna. Well, arguing with her really. Actually, War was doing most the arguing and Sienna was tying to clam her down. Sienna glanced over at them and nearly groaned at the sight of them. War turned and narrowed her eyes at Frost.

"Who let you in here?"

Frost smiled softly at her. "Still overly aggressive as always. You haven't changed a bit."

"Damn right I haven't," she growled.

Sienna could sense the impending fight so she quickly tried to lead War away. "Come on War. Let's go to the rec room."

"War I want to talk to you first," Frost cut in. He had wanted to speak with her about the incidents. About her. Sienna glared at him, signaling that now wasn't the time and continued to try to coax War away.

"Fuck off," War growled.

"You know, you don't have to be so aggressive to cover up your-"

"I swear to God I'll-!" War started to stalk towards him, her fists clenched, but Sienna grabbed her shoulders and held her back. Frost didn't seem fazed at all. He simply watched War. Studied her movements. It was kind of creepy.

"Just calm down," Sienna tried.

"I don't need you here to analyze me like some fucking experiment! I don't need you to tell me how to do my job!"

Smithey stepped in front of Frost slightly. "He's just here to help us War. We didn't bring him here to-"

"You can go to hell Smithey!"

"Hey!" Hesh snapped. That wasn't fair. Smithey had good intensions, as well as Brooklyn. This was a _complete _over reaction. What the hell was making her act like this? She was loosing it. Hesh saw Frost tilt his head slightly and step forward.

"War? Are you alright?" He asked. He obviously knew the answer but he wanted to spark a response. War however, wasn't taking the bait. She simply glared at him. Guess he would have to dig deeper. "Are you upset about Echo-" Yep, that did the trick. **(3)**

She jerked away from Sienna and started at him. "You son of fucking bitch, let go! Don't touch him!"

Hesh looked at Brooklyn. What? What the hell was she talking about. Frost crossed his arms, seeming interested in the response. War didn't seem to be all there. She had that distant far away look Brooklyn had when he had broke down. Was the same happening to War? Was it becoming too much for her? He saw her eyes flick around the room.

Sienna stepped in front of War, placing both hands on either shoulder. She tried to push her back. "Stop! War! Think rationally! Calm down!"

Frost watched War carefully. He extended out his arm and waved her over with his hand. Even to Hesh it looked demeaning. "War, come here."

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! HELP ME GET HER OUT OF HERE HESH!" Sienna was sick of this. Frost was playing his mind tricks again. War needed to be separated from him for now. Hesh ran over and grabbed War's arms. Together they at least had a chance of getting her out of the hall. They started dragging her back towards Hesh and War's room.

"Let go of me! I'll kill him! I'll find him and I'll kill him!" Hesh felt like War wasn't actually talking about Frost. He felt Frost knew it too. So then...who was she talking about? **(2)**

* * *

He whimpered. It sounded pathetic even to his own ears. But it hurt. Damn did it hurt. He was starving. He was refusing to eat. He knew from the stories his dad told that the food was poisoned. He had told him and Hesh that the Amazon was filled with exotic fruits that they had given Rorke to help in the breaking process. He wasn't going to touch the stuff.

"You know, there are simpler ways to kill yourself," Rorke taunted, waving the knife in front of Logan. Had he not been tied down to the chair he would have lunged for it. But sadly, that was not the case. Rorke punched Logan sharply across the face without warning. Logan's head snapped to the side harshly.

He could taste blood in his mouth. He turned back and spit it at Rorke. The man simply wiped the vile from his sleeve. Not fazed by Logan's childish antics. The young Walker boy was proving to be a challenge. But he knew how to get under the boy's skin. He knew how to break a man.

He turned back to the hot iron that was still resting in the coals. How long had it been in there again? Long enough. The iron was red hot. He figured he would mentally and _physically _mark the boy as his property. The iron at the end was shaped into the Federation seal, he belonged to the Federation now. He was going to brand Logan as one of theirs, so they boy always knew who he truly belonged too.

He smirked as he saw the boy's green eyes widen with fear. The hot iron nearing his skin. He tried to lean away from the searing heat. Couldn't have that now could we? He spoke quickly in Spanish, calling over two guards to hold the boy still for him. He was going to press it into his bicep. Like some kind of tattoo. Not surprisingly he continued to struggle but his movement was now limited. Rorke pressed the hot iron firmly into Logan's arms. Forever marring the skin.

Logan cried out, tears slipping down his cheeks. His head was thrown back as he screamed out. After a couple of seconds, Rorke pulled away the brander, admiring his handy work. The burnt skin on the kid's arm sizzled and hissed painfully. He could only imagine how that felt. The two guards released him and went back to their posts.

Logan let his head hang as he sniffled and shook. Rorke was loving every second of this. Here was Elias Walker's youngest son, sniffling and crying, tied to a chair in a miserable cell. He grabbed Logan's face and lifted it up, making eye contact with the boy. "Oh, we aren't done yet Logan. I still have a few things for you today."

Logan couldn't imagine what else he could come up with. Since he'd been here he had been burned, stabbed, beaten, starved, whipped, drowned, and electrocuted. What else did this man have up his sleeve? He tried to pull away but found he was too weak to do anything.

Rorke released him and walked back over the two guards. He began speaking to them in Spanish. Logan didn't know a lick of Spanish. Merrick and Keegan did but he had no clue. He spoke a bit of Russian but that was the only language other than English that he knew. He didn't like the way the three men smiled at him. The two guards had been with him before. These must be two of Rorke's most loyal soldiers. Rorke walked back over to him and cut him loose from the chair. Logan fell forward onto his knees, unable to pick himself up or fight.

"Ok boys, why don't you show our dear, sweet Logan how 'caring' we can be to our guests?"

Logan's eyes widened as the older soldier started to fiddle with his belt. Logan scrambled away from the men but only ended up backing himself into a corner. Rorke smiled and leaned against the opposite wall. He was going to watch everything they did to him. The other soldier grabbed his arms and easily pinned him to the cold concrete floor. Logan tried to kick his legs but it was no use when the soldier straddled his waist, working on pulling down his pants.

"No! Stop! Leave me alone!"

His pleas where ignored, however. This couldn't be happening...This had to be a dream. A horrible dream. He felt tears stream down his face. He didn't care anymore. He turned his head so he wouldn't have to see what these men where doing to him. He saw Rorke smiling at him. He was allowing these men to abuse him. He was enjoying it. Logan shut his eyes and willed it to be over. He tried to think over other things but he couldn't think straight.

When they where finished with him they laughed at him, one of the even spit on him.** (3) **They where then ordered to take all his clothes, leaving him cold and naked in the cell. Like an animal. Naked and afraid. He felt vulnerable. He felt scared. But most of all...he felt abandoned.

**I know this was kind of a shitty chapter. My bad. I will make the next one better. But yeah, let me explain some stuff because I'm sure a lot of you are confused. **

**1.) For starters, Frost isn't as big a dick as he appears. He notices something wrong with War so he brings up a painful memory to spark a reaction so he can try to see what is wrong.**

**2.) War is having flashes of what is happening to Logan, hence her crazy outbursts (Which will be further explained in the next chapter)**

**3.) Yes, Logan was raped by the soldiers but I really didn't want to go into details.**

**Again, I'm sorry but I'll make the next one better. And explain better in the next chapter. So Logan is in the process of being broken down, Frost and War are already off to a bad start, and War is going crazy.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys :) Thanks for all the positive reviews. I appreciate it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. This one was a lot easier for me to write and I feel it turned out better.**

**_Unnecessarily_: Lol glad you like Frost! The other Alphas kind of are split on what they think of him. And to answer your question, he is about Hesh's age.**

**_SweetBrownie_: Yeah sorry for the wait. I had school and then was having problems with the chapter. Thank you for the offer, I thought of asking for help but I was in an awkward position to do so due to the fact I had a new character coming in and no one really knew what he was like. I shouldn't have that problem from now on. So if I need help I'll be sure to ask.**

**_Guest_: I understood that I had a few younger readers. I won't ever have any sexual scenes in my stories and if I do I'll post a warning for sure. The only thing you have to watch is the strong language really. Thanks for asking about my wrist :) Unfortunately it's getting worse but I'm trying to hold out and avoid getting a cast on it. **

**_AmericanFirestorm_: Thanks for the support! I can always count on you for help!**

War was panting as she was forcefully dragged back into the room she shared with Hesh. She seemed to have calmed down drastically. Sienna was trying to sit her down but War shook her head and grabbed Sienna's wrist, noticing something new. "What is that? Where did you get that?" Sienna was confused. Her bracelet? It was one of those survival bands. Logan had made it for her. She always wore this.

"It's a survival band. Logan made it for me," she said. "War? Are you ok?"

War looked at Hesh and Sienna. "I need to get to the console in the war room. Now."

Sienna looked at Hesh for a moment, trying to signal for him to just follow her lead before shaking her head. "I think you need to cool off first."

War shook her head. "No, you didn't see what I saw."

"War, I don't think anyone did. Your the only one who can do that, remember?" Sienna looked at her bracelet for a moment. She took it off and walked up to War. "This must have come in contact with you and that's why you saw what you did. Do you want to try again?"

War shook her head no. "It's not about _me _seeing it. It's about you guys seeing it. I know what I saw. It was-"

"Let's not talk about it right now." Sienna looked at Hesh who had crossed his arms now. He really didn't need to know what had happened just now. He'd find out later anyway. This had happened before though. The MES was supposed to be working on something so she could control it better. Somehow she doubted they cared enough to be working on it. The door opened and, of all people, Frost walked in. War took no notice though. She was lost in her own thoughts. Thank God.

Sienna looked at him. "She had a-"

"I know. I could see it in her eyes," Frost's blue eyes seemed to glow like orbs as he looked at War. "I wanted to know what about, but I couldn't figure it out. She didn't give a lot to go on."

"Well you know War..."

"Yes, too well." His eyes fell upon Hesh now. "Although, I am not here for her right now. I trust you have everything under control. I'm here to speak with David." Hesh narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't like it when people used his first name. He almost never went by it. Frost opened the door further, signaling Hesh to go with him. Even though Hesh was weary of him, he still went.

They left Sienna to watch War. She watched as the two began walking to the war room. Hesh kept his eyes forward but he felt Frost staring at him. Watching him. It was a really uncomfortable feeling. He didn't like it. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. They entered the war room and he almost groaned when he saw that they where alone. He really didn't want to be alone with Frost.

"What do you want?" He couldn't keep the slight hostility out of his voice. Frost, however, took no notice or just didn't care. The man began stepping closer to him. His deep blue eyes meeting with his own. Hesh found himself unable to look away. He felt a little vulnerable looking into his eyes. Hesh couldn't help but turn his head away.

"Your related to War."

Hesh immediately looked back at him in surprise. How did he know? Seeing the shock on his face, Frost elaborated. "You and War share very similar qualities. Especially in the face. I'd say closely related. Brother and sister perhaps." The last part wasn't a question. He _knew. _

"She was talking about someone else. She was seeing someone else out there in that hallway. Someone she cared for. However, everyone was present on the base that she knew and or cared about. So that made me wonder. Is there another?" He crossed his arms and looked at Hesh, expecting an answer. Hesh shook his head, growing a little agitated.

"No you won't tell me, or no there isn't?"

"Logan."

Frost curiously tilted his head. "Logan?"

Hesh sighed and crossed his arms. "Our other brother's name is Logan. He's MIA."

Frost seemed to perk at this. "That must be it. Why didn't someone speak up before? She was seeing her brother and possible his captors."

"What are you talking about?" Hesh was now the one confused.

"Hesh, do you remember how you viewed War's memories? How she has the only working chip?" Hesh nodded, urging him to continue. "Well the chip gives off radiation. It's an A.I unit. When somebody touches something it leaves a signature. Remnants, if you will, of themselves. Sienna must have had remnants of Logan on her when she grabbed War. Those remnants can be scanned and read by her memory chip. Projecting what is going on currently in that person's mind."

Hesh stared at him for a moment. How on earth did that make sense? "So she saw Logan?" He verified.

Frost nodded. "I believe so. They programed her with something that could project peoples minds but it didn't work very well. The technology was still new to them. War can't control when she see's these remnants, hence the breakdown in the hallway."

Hesh shook his head. "Ok, look. Your here to help us find out what's going on. Not study us like hamsters in a cage." Frost nodded in agreement. "I understand. However, I will need an update on what has happened to get a profile on whoever this is. Call everyone in except Sienna and War."

Hesh didn't like being ordered around by this guy but he did what was asked of him anyway. Everyone came down and explained what had happened in great detail. Frost didn't want to miss anything. The scenes where described to him, the notes where read to him. Rose was finally back and reported everything she knew. Hesh felt like that painted a good enough picture for him.

"So who do you suspect it is?" Frost asked Merrick.

"I'm assuming Federation, but anything's possible."

Frost nodded. "Well, based off what I was given I feel like this is more a personal issue. I believe they may have been working with the Federation but this is simply a whim of theirs to get rid of War or harm her greatly. The note _did_ ask for her directly. This person has a grudge against her and has hated her for a long time. However he knows all of you. Knows how you operate. Ringing any bells?" He looked around the room. No one had any idea who this could be.

Frost continued. "Someone who has watched all of you. Knows how you fight. Knows who is the weakest," he again paused and looked around the room. "Anything?" Still, no one had a clue. Frost sighed, getting straight to the point. "I believe it's Derek."

Hesh's eyes widened at the mention of the name. The man who had nearly killed his sister. The man who had betrayed them all. Frost's assumption made sense but it was impossible. Derek was in a high security prison for treason. It couldn't be him. Merrick seemed to be thinking the same thing. "That's impossible. Derek is in prison."

Frost shrugged. "Anything is possible my dear friend. Just look around you," he gestured to all the Alphas. "We where considered 'impossible' as well. While I do agree that it is unlikely Derek keeps running back and forth from the prison, he is more likely to hire a hit man."

"But doesn't the prison keep track of what he sends out, what he receives, and who visits him?" Don asked.

Merrick nodded. "The prison keeps track of all of that."

"We should have that sent to us so we can get a list of names," Smithey said.

"On it," Keegan was already at the back computers getting the orders for the information on Derek. "This is stupid. Why don't we just go to the prison and kill that son of a-"

"Hard to believe War is so aggressive when she's surrounded by gentle loving people," Frost said sarcastically.

Talon huffed. "Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I don't get paid to be loving."

Lake raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute. You get paid? I don't get jack!"

"It was a figure of speech, Lake," Brooklyn said. However, the goofy Alpha just smiled. He nudged Connor and whispered something in his ear, causing the two to laugh to themselves.

"I got something." Everyone looked to the screen as Keegan brought up an address. "The file says this is the only address he's written to. Over fifteen letters. No responses though. He would just send them."

"Girlfriend maybe? Maybe wife and kids?" Hesh inquired.

Talon gave a harsh laugh. "That asshole? He ain't got no girl waiting for him." She was probably right.

"Look up the address Keegan, see where this place is," Merrick said.

"Alright, give me a minute to patch into the satellite."

"Google Earth is probably faster," Connor said. Everyone gave him an odd look. "Is that a joke?" Talon growled. Lake was chuckling at the joke though.

"I got it!"

They looked up at the screen to see the aerial image of the building. Except there was one problem. There was nothing there. It was just a big empty lot. No houses, no buildings, nothing. That meant that he was sending the letters to an anonymous person. Derek _was_ behind this. He had to be.

"Well it appears I was correct. He does appear to have someone set up," Frost said.

"I guess we're going after him then."

Everyone turned at the new voice and saw both War and Sienna standing in the doorway. Now that everyone knew she was there she stepped up and looked at the lot. "That son of a bitch thinks he's smart? Guess I'll pay him a visit. If he wants me, he's got me."

"Your not going alone," Merrick said sternly. War rolled her eyes. "Merrick have you seen me fly a helicopter? No I'm not going alone. I'm taking Hesh and Frost with me."

What? Did he hear that right? She was actually asking to take him and Frost? She _wanted_ them to come? Everyone else seemed just as shocked as he was. "We're putting two of the people you hate into a helicopter with you...? This sounds like a mass suicide," Connor said. Talon quickly smacked him.

War rolled her eyes. "Fine, then Sienna is coming too. Happy?" Hesh sure as hell was. She glanced at him and Frost. "Go get the damn helicopter ready before I change my mind. We have shit to do."

* * *

None of them had stepped foot into the prison before. It was really big but looked like any ordinary prison. Nothing special about it. It was heavily guarded though. No way was any of these guys just walking out of here. Security was a pain in the ass to deal with though. Hesh had to explain why they where here about six times. War was probably going to get herself locked up in this place. She had threatened most of the guards there.

They where led to the maximum security area where they where taken to an interrogation room to talk to Derek. It was similar to the one the MES had on base except there was no one way window and no monitors. It was more of a speaking room really. There was a table to sit at but none of them felt like sitting down. Frost stood by the door, choosing to simply watch the exchange. Sienna stood a little ways away from War incase she needed to grab her. Better safe then sorry.

Hesh stood next to his sister in front of the table, waiting for the man to be brought in. A guard led in Derek. He was wearing heavy chains and an orange jump suit. His black hair had grown out a bit. It wasn't shaved down like it had been before. His blue eyes where a little duller now. He looked up and smiled when he saw the four of them. The guard roughly shoved him into the chair opposite of them. He was then shackled down so he couldn't get up from the table.

War choose to sit down, Hesh sitting next to her. Derek just studied the two for a moment. "My, my, it's been a while hasn't it?" His cuffed hands _clinked _against the table top. He smiled when he saw War's scarred neck. He brought his shackled hands forward and traced over it with his thumb. Hesh bristled and was about to say something but a light tap on his shoulder from Sienna stopped him. "That's a lovely scar you got there. It suits you." War didn't say anything. She had a blank expression, showing no emotion. She was an interrogator after all.

"So what do I owe this lovely visit too?" Derek asked, leaning back into his chair with a smirk. War watched him do so. She leaned forward, resting her elbows onto the table top. "You got a lot of friend's Derek?" War questioned. The man's smile widened. "I have lot's of friends. But you probably know that by now don't you? Having a little trouble on the home front are we now?"

"Never said that," War shrugged. "You implying something?"

Derek chuckled. "No of course not."

Hesh was getting frustrated with the slow progress. This was frustrating enough. He slammed his fists down on the table. "Cut the bullshit Derek! We know what you've been doing!"

Derek smirked. "I have no clue what your talking about Hesh. Maybe you should be more direct." That damn smile was starting to piss him off.

"We know you've gotten one of your friends to threaten the Alphas. We found the address," Hesh growled. Derek played stupid. "What of the address?"

"You sent the letters to an empty lot," Hesh said. His eyes narrowed as he watched the man play it off as if it where nothing but a stupid accusation.

Derek merely shrugged. "Must have gotten the wrong address. Probably why I never received a response." He leaned forward again, looking at War. "I don't know why anyone would want to hurt an Alpha." He brought his hand to War's face. She pulled away slightly but didn't slap his hands away. Hesh was about to unleash on the guy but a sharp tug on his collar stopped him. He glanced back and saw that Sienna was now standing behind him. She gave him a sharp look, signaling him to cool his jets and shut it.

Derek drug his thumb across War's forehead unconsciously and down her cheek, stopping at her chin. His eyes then fell upon Frost in the back corner of the room. Moving away from War he looked at the man for a moment. "I'm surprised War hasn't torn your throat out yet Frost."

"It's come up," War answered monotone. Her face was still blank. Giving no satisfaction to Derek. "So your gonna make this hard hu? You want a battle? I'll give you a war."

Derek smirked. "Don't worry." He leaned closer and whispered to her loud enough for all of them to hear but not for a recorder to pick up. "I'll make sure _I'm_ the one to kill you." He leaned back, looking satisfied with himself. Hesh bared his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "Try it you son of a bitch. I'll kill you."

Derek's smile grew. "Say, Hesh, where's Logan?"

"You fucking-!"

Sienna grabbed him and pulled him back as he lunged at Derek's throat. War, however, still showed no emotion at all. Not at all fazed by the comment. She signaled the guard back in. "We're done here." Before she got up however, she hooked her foot over a chain and jerked backward, causing Derek's hands to be jerked down and his face along with it. It sent his face smashing into the table. He groaned slightly in pain. "Oops," she said with no remorse. The guard grabbed Derek and harshly unhooked him, dragging him from the room.

Once he was gone they left the prison and got back into the helicopter. "What the hell War? What was that about? You barely asked him anything, and you let that sick fuck touch you!"

"All part of the process," Frost explained. "You see, Sienna had to keep you from speaking so I could see all of Derek's movements. Everything he did gave me an idea of what he might do next. I was reading him the whole time. Every word, every touch, every facial express, helped us out."

Hesh sighed and looked back at Frost. "Did you get anything?"

Frost smiled and gave a nod. "You bet I did."

**Things are starting to get interesting! Looks like Derek is back again. Not even prison can keep this man under control. He's hell bent on getting War. Now they know one of his friends are after him., but who? Who is the next target? What did Frost find out? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys :) Glad I could get this chapter up for you today. It's a little shorter than my previous ones but this one is kind of just a filler. Just to get you asking questions and assuming things. Get you ready for what's to come in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

Instead of reporting in what he knew, Frost was actually refusing to tell anyone what he had gathered. He said if word got out it would ruin everything. Merrick had assured him that the intel wouldn't leave the war room but Frost still refused. Hesh was getting frustrated with him. When War had been asked what she found out she also refused to share for the same reasons as Frost. That _really_ pissed him off. Why wouldn't they tell them? The _needed_ to know!

"Frost, this is really important-"

"Which is why I won't speak of this."

Frost had a neutral look on his face. He kept his cool, even when he was under fire by Merrick. Hesh could feel his blood boiling. They had just gone through all of that for nothing! He let that sick fuck touch and threaten his sister and now Frost wouldn't share what he'd found? Unbelievable.

"Frost, we need to know so we know what to look for, please," Merrick forced the sentence out calmly. Although, Hesh could tell he was loosing it. Frost and War seemed to be the only ones keeping their cool. War's face was completely blank and unreadable. He wasn't even sure she was listening to them.

Frost once again shook his head. "The answer is no."

Hesh finally snapped. He started towards him. "Listen to me you fucking-!" Sienna, once again, tugged him by the collar of his shirt, trying to stop him. Of course, that wasn't going to work this time. Frost didn't seem very concerned with his violent approach. He just watched him carefully. "My fucking sister-!"

"Is fine, and will continue to fine as long as I'm around," Frost said calmly.

"You can't just use her as bait and then bottle up all the information against him to yourself!" He was in Frost's face now. Sienna moved to grab him but Frost waved her off, allowing Hesh to speak to him. "We're a fucking team! We don't need you to be the fucking lone wolf!" Everyone had gone silent as Hesh exploded on Frost. What agitated him most was the fact Frost was not at all intimidated. He grabbed Frost by the collar of his shirt and pushed him backward into the wall, pinning him there.

"Hesh!"

He heard Merrick yell behind him but he ignored it. He glared into Frost's blue eyes but all he did was look back at him. "Why don't you hit me you coward!" He hissed, pushing Frost harder into the back wall. Frost's hands where resting on Hesh's arms. He still had that same damn look on his face. Unreadable. He drew his arm back to hit him but a hand grabbed his arm, stopping him from doing so. Smithey had grabbed him and pulled him back away from Frost. Brooklyn grabbed his other arm and the two _literally_ dragged him out of the room.

"Get off me I'm fine!" He tried to jerk away but Smithey and Brooklyn hung onto him. Smithey hooked a leg around his own, sending Hesh onto his back in the middle of the hallway. Both of the older Alphas grabbed his arms and pinned him. He kicked out but wasn't flexible enough to get them. After a few minutes of struggling he stopped and took a deep breath. Both Smithey and Brooklyn looked at him.

"Are you done?" Smithey asked, still keeping all his weight on Hesh's arm incase he lashed out. Hesh nodded slowly, not trusting his voice. Very slowly, Brooklyn and Smithey let up on his arms. They wanted to make sure he truly was ok. Hesh sat up and sighed. He had seriously flipped out in there. Real bad. He was supposed to be a leader and instead he let Frost get the best of him.

War came out of the war room, slamming the door behind her. Guess the conversation didn't go very well anyway. She didn't even look at Hesh when she walked by. He could already tell she was going to their room. Brooklyn gave him a sympathetic look. War and himself still weren't getting along. "You two need to talk," Smithey said, seeing the exchange. Hesh just nodded. He got up and followed her without a word to the other two.

He walked into their room and saw War sitting on the bed. She didn't even acknowledge his arrival. He knew that if he started talking to her she would leave so he quickly came up with a plan. She didn't watch him as he went over and pulled something from the drawer. She assumed he was just grabbing something then leaving. She didn't expect to find herself handcuffed to the bed.

She sat up and immediately tried to pull her wrist free. "What the hell Hesh?!" She barked.

"Good, your talking to me. That's progress."

"I'll be killing you in a second once I get out of these," she hissed.

Hesh rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to let her out or she'd leave in a fit. So he asked the first question that came to mind. "What did you see?"

War stopped her struggles for a moment and looked at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"In the hallway, when Sienna grabbed you. You weren't all there. Frost said you where seeing something, remnants or something like that. None of you would tell me about it but Frost said he thought you may have saw Logan."

War looked away and stared at the wall. Her silence was driving him crazy. He stepped closer to her, trying to be menacing. God, he just wanted his sister back. They used to talk all the time. Now all he got was the cold shoulder. He sighed and sat on the bed next to her. He didn't really expect a response anymore.

"Yes."

He looked at her in surprise. "Yes...?"

"I saw Logan." He remained silent in hopes she would continue. "I saw Frost walking towards me, but then...it wasn't Frost. When Sienna first made contact with me...everything changed. I felt like I was standing there with him. He was backed up against the wall. I was right next to him but he couldn't see me. Didn't know I was there. Rorke was there. I saw him. He was going to punch him. He was going to hit my brother...I don't know what happened after that. Next thing I know I was in our room with you and Sienna."

Frost had said War's chip was able to pick up on what a person was currently remembering. The thought of Rorke hurting his brother angered him. That bastard would pay. Hesh would make sure of that. So would Derek's 'friend.' He sighed and unlocked War from the bed. "Sorry..." She shrugged, not really caring anymore. Hesh stood up and held his hand out to her to help her up. She ignored it and got up herself.

"You want to go with me to get a water?" Hesh asked. He really just wanted the presence of his sister. No matter what they where doing. War shrugged and gave a nod, following him out the door. It felt nice to actually be able to walk next to her. She wasn't really talking though. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge. He tossed one to War who just nodded her appreciation. She didn't drink hers though. She just watched Hesh. He uncapped it and went to take a drink, walking back towards the door.

"HESH STOP!"

War grabbed the water bottle from his hands. He jumped at the sudden scream. War backed away from him, examining the water bottle. "What's wrong?" Without saying anything War took a whiff of the water. She then splashed a little onto one of the counter tops. She looked back up at him. "Hesh, someone poisoned this water."

* * *

"Ok, Lake, we get it. Your fast, now slow the fuck down," Talon growled. Lake skidded to a stop at the end of the hallway, waiting for the others to catch up. He chuckled and leaned against the wall. "Maybe if you weren't so bitchy all the time, Talon, you'd have more friends."

"Don't call her that," Sienna said. She really didn't want the two to break into a fight like they always did. Semper and herself were usually the peace keepers, but that only did so much.

"Yeah, listen to Sienna. Or I'll have her throw a knife at you," Talon teased.

"I don't throw knives at my teammates," she remained Talon.

"How many times must I say it? Lake is and always will be an exception."

"Let's go to the kitchen! I'm starved!" Connor groaned.

A group of Alphas could be one of two things. 1) Annoying as hell or 2) Your worst nightmare. Right now it was the first one. All the Alphas together at once could get really annoying if they had nothing to do. Especially with all the clashing personalities. Semper just stuck next to Sienna. Brooklyn and Smithey where busy chatting in the back to really care about what was going on. Don just kept his mouth shut so he wouldn't piss off Talon. Connor and Lake where joking around with each other. God only knew where Rose went, and Frost was probably back in his room.

"Your always hungry Connor," Lake joked.

"Can you blame me?"

After the long meeting with Merrick they where all tired and hungry. Smithey and Merrick seemed to give similar briefings. Long, pointless, and annoying as hell. They all already knew what was going on. They didn't need briefed on it every other day. Connor had actually fallen asleep while standing up during the meeting, resulting in him taking a header into the floor. Merrick was pissed but it made everyone else laugh.

They finally approached the kitchen, choosing to just grab whatever and laze around. The three girls jumped up on the counter and started eating some fruit that had found. All the guys where hunting for something else to make. Considering Sienna and Semper where the only ones who had any knowledge on how to cook it would probably be them making it.

Lake and Don had tried to use the oven once. They where making a chicken or something of the sort. They had cranked the temperature up in hopes that it would cook faster, resulting in the kitchen catching fire and the oven melting. Those two where forbidden to cook. Forever. The only thing they could make was MRE's. It didn't get anymore pathetic than that.

"Hey, Brooklyn," Connor asked sweetly, batting his eyes at the older male. Brooklyn raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy who was sprawled out on a table. "Could you go get some food from the big freezer, please." Brooklyn looked at him for a moment. "You are literally four feet away from it."

"But I'm _sooooo_ lazy. It's too far." He extended out his arm to show it was out of arm's reach. Brooklyn rolled his eyes but went into the freezer anyway to grab some burgers or something. "I love you," Connor said as he walked past him to the door. "Yeah, yeah, don't push your luck."

He opened the door and tossed an ice bag in front of it so it wouldn't shut and lock him in. Although, it probably wouldn't matter because he was sure Lake would probably just shut it on him and then Talon would have to let him out. When he entered however, he froze...literally.

"Smithey...?"

"What's up?" Smithey's voice called back to him from the kitchen.

"Get over here. Now."

The urgency in his voice drew _everyone _over to see what was wrong. In the middle of the freezer was a cart, and on top of the cart was a body...without the head. Actually that proved untrue. On the rack above it was the head. Sitting by itself.

"Well...that's fucking gross," Lake said.

"Who is that?" Semper asked scooting slightly closer to Sienna. The body was stiff from being in the freezer. All the blood had frozen to the floor. The face was frozen as well. The mouth still hung open in a scream and the eyes stared directly at everyone. Talon immediately grabbed one of the small tarps and tossed it over the head. "I can't focus with that starring at me."

"I think it's safe to say we're gonna have to toss all this food out," Connor said. Lake gave a nervous laugh. In very serious situations those two tended to try to make jokes because they didn't have any other way to handle it. So no one yelled at them for the joke. Some people laughed, some cried, some didn't talk. I was their way of handling things.

"Frost and Merrick are on the way," Don said. No one had realized he had gotten on the radio. "They where with Hesh and War, someone had poisoned the water."

"Seriously? Two incidents in one day? Fuck..." Talon sighed.

"Actually, due to the freezer burn on the body, I'd say this man's been here a few days," Smithey concluded. Brooklyn was examining the head, trying to make out what tool was used to cut it off. It would probably need to be professionally examined though.

"This shit is starting to escalate," Lake muttered.

Frost walked into the room, followed by Merrick. Hesh and War weren't with them so Merrick had probably ordered them to stay back. Frost stepped past everyone and walked into the freezer with Smithey and Brooklyn. "None of you moved anything yet have you?"

"No, just covered the head," Brooklyn said. He took the tarp back off the head and tossed it off to the side. It wouldn't be needed. Frost looked at how the body was positioned. He then took a good look at the head. That's what he mostly cared about. He walked over and delicately dragged his thumb over the forehead...

"We need to take the head to the autopsy room," he concluded.

"What? Why?" Merrick asked.

"The head is the key. I know it is. We'll find something with it."

"How do you know?" Brooklyn questioned.

Frost sighed and looked back at them. "...Because Derek dragged his thumb over War's forehead."

* * *

Logan tried desperately to pull his wrist's free from the restraints. The worn leather creaking as he did so. They had decided that his ankles had to be bound down as well to keep him as still as possible. He was in some sort of hospital tied down to one of the beds. It was some Federation infirmary. What scared Logan was the fact that he didn't know why he was there. The curtain was moved back and a few doctors came into the room, followed by Rorke. He glared at the man and continued tugging at the restraints.

"We should be able to complete the surgery in a few hours."

Surgery? What surgery? He didn't need surgery on anything. He had injuries, of course, but nothing that required surgery. Seeing the confusion on his face, Rorke chuckled and walked over to him. "Don't worry kid, their just going to work on that pretty head of yours," he patted Logan on the cheek. His head? What where they going to do to his head.

"We'll have to put him to sleep now if we are to do the operation on schedule."

"Well then I'll leave him to you doc." Rorke winked at him before he left the room. The doctors started to prep him for whatever was to come. They tried to get an I.V. into him first, but he would jerk his arm so it would be difficult. It took three doctors to hold him down while one inserted the I.V. They then got more straps to retrain his arm so he wouldn't knock out the I.V.

He did _not _want these sick fucks operating on him. What did they even want? One of them pulled out a plastic mask. "We're going to put this on you so you'll go to sleep," the doctor explained to him. Hell no. He thrashed in the bed, jerking his head wildly in every direction. He didn't want to go to sleep. He didn't want this surgery. He wanted to go back home to his sister and brother.

"Easy, Logan, easy. This won't hurt. We need you to relax for us now. You don't want us to call the soldiers in do you?"

He didn't care. Let them come. He wasn't going to lay down and let them do this to him. He was going to fight and make it as difficult as possible. The doctor attempted to put the mask on again but he shook his head once more. The doctor sighed and stepped out of the makeshift room for a moment. "Can we get some help over here?"

A few Federation soldiers walked in and attempted to grab his head. He had managed to bite one of them but it just earned him a sharp slap to the face. Finally, one of them got a good enough grip and pinned his head down. The doctor took the mask and put it over his mouth. Logan held his breath for as long as he could, trying not to breath in the gas. It was proving futile however, as he became drowsy.

"Good Logan. See? That wasn't so bad."

His vision became blurry and unfocused. He couldn't stop them as they began wheeling him to the surgery room. Logan stared up at the ceiling and watched all the light's zoom by. He couldn't move anything. He could barely move his head. He saw the surgery doors get pushed open for him. He saw a few doctors hovered over him for a few seconds. Then he passed out.

**Well it looks like Hesh and War aren't the only ones who can't get along. Is Hesh going to end up getting into a fight with Frost? What does Frost need the head for? What are they going to do to poor Logan?! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Sorry it was a bit shorter than my last few. My bad. I promise you the next chapter will have you on the edge of your seat! *Evil laugh***


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Sorry, it's been a long week : / I wanted to work on my story but I had a lot to do. Darn school! On the bright side! I finished my drivers education classes so I will have Wednesday night's free again! Yay! I hope your guys enjoy this chapter. **

War sat down next to Sienna and let out a long sigh. Her friend had insisted they go out and get some fresh air. Most likely to get away from all the stress. War had decided to take them to her favorite spot next to the river. She had somehow managed to convince her friend to climb up the tree with her. Sienna didn't really like to climb trees. She said it was because she felt trapped but War knew the real reason. When they where younger they went on a mission and ended up getting chased up a tree by a pack of wolves. Therefore, Sienna wasn't to thrilled by the idea of _willingly_ putting yourself in a tree. War couldn't say she blamed her.

She noticed Sienna's fingers where digging into the branch. She didn't want to slip off. A smile found its way onto War's face as she got an idea. Moving quickly, she gave Sienna a sharp push forward. Sienna gasped as she lost her balance, but before she could lose her grip War had grabbed her shoulders and rebalanced her. "Saved your life," War smirked.

"You brat! That wasn't funny!"

War laughed at the look Sienna gave her. Sienna, not about to be one upped by her best friend, took the opportunity to shake the branch. War was wiping the tears from her eyes, her laugh dying to a chuckle. Sienna shook the branch violently causing War to fall backwards. However, War had her legs hooked over the branch, causing her to simply dangle upside down from the potentially dangerous height. Sienna laughed at War's predicament. "Wow. Thanks for knocking me out of the tree. Your a true friend," War mocked. She hasn't moved to lift herself back up, deciding to simply hang by her legs.

"_That's_ not knocking you out of the tree. _This_ is knocking you out of the tree." Sienna leaned over and unhooked one of War's legs causing her to drop further, leaving her dangling by one leg. It wasn't a big deal for an Alpha. Sienna knew War had a strong core and strong legs. She was more than capable of pulling herself up. War could probably dangle there all day if she wanted. She wouldn't _really_ knocked her out of the tree. However, War was being lazy and not pulling herself up, so Sienna decided to hang as well. She let go and swung upside down next to War.

War had her arms crossed over her chest. Once Sienna swung down they turned there heads to look at each other. "How's it hanging?" Sienna asked deadpan. War tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing at the lame joke. "I'll give that to you, that was a good one," War said.

She sighed once again. "You think we should go to the autopsy room?" War asked.

Sienna shook her head no. "Merrick said not to."

"When do we ever listen to Merrick?"

Sienna laughed. "True."

"Hesh and Frost are there so why can't we? If you think about it, we would be hindering the process if we didn't go and help," War said.

Sienna rolled her eyes. "You just want to see the head cut open."

"Hell yeah I do! Let's go!" She unhooked her last leg and jumped down from the tree limb, flipping in the air so she'd land on her feet. Looking up at Sienna she smiled. "Come on! I'll race you!"

Sienna chuckled and did the same as War. "Your so on. Prepare to loose!"

"Alright, alright. We start at that rock right there," War pointed to a large, moss covered rock next the the tree. "On three." Sienna and War readied themselves. Both where pretty evenly matched when it came to running. They always liked to race each other. It was always close between them. "Alright. One. Two. Three!"

Running through the woods wasn't difficult for them. Most people wouldn't be able to navigate around the foliage. War and Sienna where used to the woods so it was no problem for them. The two girls where running side by side, jumping over roots, ducking under branches, but overall having fun. Sienna was laughing, not having run with her friend in forever. It had been so long since the two had goofed off with each other like this. War was laughing as well. She was falling a little behind Sienna now, becoming disabled with her laughs.

Suddenly, Sienna heard a sharp yelp from War and out of the corner of her eye she saw her friend drop. Sienna immediately stopped laughing and skidded to a stop a little ways ahead. She looked back and saw War on the ground. "War? Are you ok?" Had she tripped? Did she roll her ankle or something? She saw War slowly sit up and look at her leg. War's eyes widened suddenly and she saw her try and tug at something she couldn't see.

"Sienna...?"

She quickly jogged back to her friend's aid. She gasped when she finally saw War's leg. She hadn't tripped. Her leg was caught...in a bear trap. Sienna gasped and knelt next to War. "Oh my god! Your leg!" War groaned and looked at the iron trap that had snagged her and caused her to fall. Sienna looked at the trap and tried to pry it open with her fingers. She began to move it a few centimeters away but it was too tight and her fingers slipped. It snapped shut again around War's ankle, causing her to hiss sharply.

"Shit! Sorry!"

"There should be a release button on it," War gritted out. Sienna checked the sides of the deadly trap but found no such button. She looked everywhere but there was nothing that looked helpful at all. Usually these things had release buttons. This one didn't. "I can't find anything."

War wasn't looking down at what she was doing. She was starring up at the sky, gritting her teeth harshly. "It must be rigged not to open." There was blood coming from where the teeth dug into her skin. Sienna tried pulling the device up from the ground but it was driven into the dirt. She looked at her friend. "I'm going to go get Hesh."

War groaned slightly. "Do _not _go get my brother. He'll freak."

Sienna gave War a hard look. Sometimes War could be really stubborn. She needed help and with Hesh, Merrick, and herself they could probably pry it open. She decided to ignore War's request for the sake of her friend. "I'll be right back. Stay here."

War raised an eyebrow and gestured to the trap around her ankle. "Well duh."

Sienna shook her head. At least her sense of humor was in tact. She reached for her belt and pulled out one of her throwing knives. Just in case. "Here take this. I'll be right back. I promise." War looked at Sienna's knife. She always had these things with her. "Your trusting me with one of your knives?"

Sienna smiled. "Yeah so don't lose it." She turned and jogged back towards the base. She would go faster but she didn't want to get caught in one of the traps. She didn't know if there where more out there. She was very reluctant to leave War's side. What if some wild animal turned up? Or worse, the killer... This got her moving a little faster. She knew both Merrick and Hesh where in the autopsy lab, probably along with Frost.

Once she was clear of the trees she took off on a dead sprint toward the base. She rounded the corners sharply towards the room. Some other soldiers in the hallway saw her and asked what was wrong, if she was ok. Sienna felt bad but she just ran by them, offering them no explanation. She didn't have time. Lucky for her, the autopsy room wasn't too far away.

Upon entering she saw that they where still preparing the room. They hadn't started yet. She immediately saw Merrick and Hesh leaned over something. Other soldiers and professionals where setting up machines and equipment. Everyone looked up however, when they heard the door crash open. Seeing the somewhat alarmed look on her face, Merrick and Hesh immediately began to worry. "Sienna? What's wrong? Is everything-?"

She shook her head. "War-War's caught in a trap."

"Is she ok?" Merrick asked. They both started towards her, stopping what they where originally doing.

"Wait, you left her alone?" Hesh growled.

"I couldn't get her out, I had to go get help."

"Where is she?" Merrick asked.

Sienna gave a brief explanation. "We where coming back from the woods and a big bear trap snagged War's ankle. She's over by the river, not too far from it."

"I thought we told you not to go into the woods?" Hesh lectured.

Not up for a debate with Hesh, she simply led them out of the room and took off towards where War was left. Both men where hot on her heels. When they reached the tree line however, she slowed. She thought she saw a gleam of metal. She couldn't go above a jog or she may miss something and get caught as well. "There may be more," she said over her shoulder, giving an explanation of why she was going so slow. "War!" Hesh called out to her but there was no answer. Sienna was concerned his yelling would attract something but she didn't dare question him. If he wanted to yell, let him yell. Sienna followed the exact path she had ran. She followed the footprints she had left in the damp ground. She also could sense Hesh's concern. He was tense and had his Honey Badger in hand, drawn and ready to go.

Sienna suddenly stopped. This wasn't right. War was right there. That's where she had left her! She scanned the area quickly with her eyes but saw nothing. War was gone? What the hell? "Why did you stop?" Hesh asked. Sienna ignored him and walked over to the spot where War _should _be. This couldn't be right. She was only gone a few minutes. The entire trap was gone. It had been yanked out of the Earth. So then where was War? Sienna stood back up and shook her head as she looked around. "This isn't right...she was right here."

Merrick quickly got on his radio. "I need a perimeter set up around the base immediately, sweep the area."

Hesh was starring past Sienna. Curious, she turned and followed his eyes. He was looking at a puddle...a puddle of blood. He looked like he might be sick. He started to shake his head in denial. "Sienna...that's too much blood...you can't survive without that much blood..." At a second glance Sienna realized he was right. They had taught you that when a blood puddle reached a certain size it meant the person had bled out. The puddle was roughly that size.

She turned to looked into Hesh's wide blue eyes. "Hesh, listen to me. War's ok, she's fine. She survived, I promise."

He looked at her. "How do you know?"

She didn't know. She had absolutely no idea. But that wouldn't help Hesh. She just had that feeling in her gut that War was ok. "Your just going to have to trust me."

Hesh nodded and shut his eyes. "Your right, your right. She's fine."

"The boys are sweeping the area now. The other Alphas are searching as well," Merrick informed them. He looked at Sienna. "Do you think she was taken?" Sienna wasn't the greatest at examining crime scenes, but she could pick up bits and pieces. Smithey did it all the time so how hard could it be?

She looked around and a gleam of metal caught her eye. She walked over and knelt down next to it. Moving some blades of grass away she reveled her throwing knife. War must had dropped it, or maybe it had been ripped out of her hands. But that wasn't the only concerning factor. It was the fact that her knife was covered in blood. Question was...Who's was it?

* * *

Rorke smiled as he looked at the Walker boy sitting across from him. Logan's messy blonde hair was slightly in his face and his green eyes had slightly dulled. He looked weak from the surgery which may be why he was being so blissfully cooperative. That or the surgery had seriously done wonders.

"Do you know your name?" He asked. Might as well get started.

The boy hesitated for a moment, as if he where unsure his answer was correct or not. Rorke gave him a slight nod, encouraging him to speak. "Sergeant Logan Walker," he replied quietly.

"Do you know where you are?" He pressed. Logan glanced around the room, eyes taking in every detail. They had left the hospital and brought him back to the Federation base that was currently in the Amazon. He wanted to see what the boy remembered first. No point in tossing him into a pit if the surgery had worked.

"I'm on base?" It came out more as a question. That was to be expected. The kid couldn't be sure where he was. Rorke nodded. "Your on a Federation base." He watched Logan's face for any kind of negative reaction. Logan's face remained the same. He just seemed like he was tired. No reaction? Let's see what else he could test. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a few pictures. He placed one of them on the table and slid it over to Logan. "Do you recognize this person?"

Logan didn't waste any time. "That's my brother. Hesh." So he _did _remember his brother? What a shame. He would have loved to see Logan end his own brother's life. He would have loved to see the look on the older boy's face, as his baby brother put a bullet in his head. Maybe if there was time he'd rough him up a bit. He decided to try the next picture. He felt better about this one. "What about this picture?"

Logan looked at it and hesitated. Bingo. He didn't know who this person was. Logan studied the face and tilted his head slightly. He handed the photo back to Rorke. "I've seen her face before but I don't know who she is." Perfect. He could use this to his advantage. He put on a, bullshit, surprised face. "You don't remember what happened?"

He had him hooked now. Logan tilted his head in confusion and shook his head. "No, sir." He was calling him sir now? This was going _so_ much better than he had hoped. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. Oh how the mighty had fallen. Logan was _his _now. He belonged to the Federation. He was their Ghost.

"That's War. She is a MES soldier working for the Americans. She is ranked as an Alpha, one of the top soldiers in the world. She is the one who nearly killed you."

"Killed me?"

Rorke leaned back in his chair. This was almost too easy. He nodded his head. "See all those bruises and cuts you got there? Those are from her. She gave you a sharp hit to the head, which is probably why your head hurts so bad. Probably explains the memory loss too. She would have killed you had we not pushed the American's back." Logan was examining all the wounds that really _he _had caused during the breaking process. "She's also the one that stole your brother away and had him brainwashed into fighting for the Americans." He gave a bullshit sigh. "He was one of our best soldiers, your brother was, now he's killed most of my men along with her."

The anger on the boy's face was priceless. He glared at the picture of his 'enemy'. Logan clenched his fists tightly. "Where is she?" Rorke had to stop himself from laughing. Damn, he wished he had that little bitched tied to a chair somewhere so her brother could rip into her. The surgery had worked like a dream. "Hold on there son. You still need time to heal before I let you go after her." It was true. He was still injured and needed to rest up. Gain back all his strength he had lost starving himself. Then he would let his new soldier loose on those damn Ghosts. He might not go after his brother though, like he had originally hoped. But then again, the girl was better than nothing. Maybe later he could convince him that Elias was the enemy as well. Baby steps.

Logan sighed agitatedly. "I'm fine, sir. I'm ready to get back in the fight. For the Federation." That was music to his ears. He chuckled slightly. "I love the enthusiasm soldier, but unfortunately you will have to rest for now. Meanwhile, we'll gather more intelligence on her whereabouts. Then, once your fully healed up, we will send you after her." He didn't seem too found of the idea of having to sit out for a while, but it would give him time to get everything ready and make sure nothing went wrong. He got up from the desk and walked around behind Logan. He rested his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Rest easy soldier. That's an order. We still need you out there. "

Logan nodded his head, actually relaxing into Rorke's grip. Rorke had intentionally left War's picture on the desk in front of Logan, letting him glare hatefully at his 'enemy.' He was already devising the perfect plan. He hadn't realized it but Logan had pulled his knife from Rorke's belt. Rorke was about to disarm him but instead of attacking him like he expected, Logan simply drove the knife into the picture. Rorke smiled. This was just too perfect. He patted Logan's shoulder. "Come on soldier." He removed his hands from Logan's shoulders and headed towards the door, waiting for him.

"Yes sir."

**Oh no! What happened to War? Will they be able to find her? Poor Logan! What has happened to the quiet, loving, youngest, Walker boy we all know and love! What's Rorke planning? What's the team's next move going to be? What the hell is going on? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :) **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys. Sorry it took so long to update. All the teachers at school think we have nothing better to do but homework so I haven't had a lot of time to update. I probably won't get much done over the weekend either because I have a horse show so this will probably be it for now. Sorry this is just a filler chapter. Hopefully the length makes up for it?The next will be better.**

"We'll find her Hesh. I promise," Merrick said. Hesh was pacing around the room and lashing out at anyone that got in his way. Hence the reason Merrick forced him back here in the first place. Hesh was in too great an emotional state of mind, he was angry at Sienna and War for going into the woods, himself for letting his sister out of his sight, and Merrick for not letting him go look for her. It probably didn't help that Frost was simply watching them both from his corner. Hesh had already threatened to kill Frost twice since he'd been in the room. The boy was a nightmare when he was angry. He had called Brooklyn and Don into the room to help out as well since Smithey was out looking for War.

They where in the autopsy room. One of the specialists was waiting for Merrick to tell him what to do. Right now they where arguing over what their next course of action would be. Due to the recent events, Hesh had insisted that they just cut open the head to find whatever the next clue was. Clearly that's what Derek was indicating. Merrick, however, insisted they get an MRI first like they had originally planned. Hesh argued that there was no time. The vote was split. Hesh and Don wanted to open it up and Brooklyn and Merrick wanted to do the MRI first. Frost had stated that he was merely an observer in this. Merrick thought about asking the specialist but didn't want to put the man in that position.

"I'm in charge and we are going to follow procedure. We are going to do the MRI first," Merrick stated, crossing his arms.

"Do you know how long that will take!? We don't have time anymore! Frost said the secrete is in the head, Derek clued him in on that. There has to be some sort of clue in there!" Hesh argued.

"Listen to yourself! 'Derek' clued us in on that! We need a complete scan of the head!" Merrick snapped.

"I'm with Hesh on this one," Don said. "We can't afford to waste anymore time. Someone could be killed."

"Someone still could be killed if we don't know what we're getting into," Brooklyn stated. He had tried and failed at getting everyone to calm down.

"Uh...excuse me sirs."

Everyone in the room turned as a soldier stepped into the doorway. He was really young and was clearly nervous about what he was walking into. All eyes where on him. Merrick crossed his arms and glared at the boy. "What is it?" Frost became intrigued now by the presence of another soldier. He tilted his head slightly and watched the man as he entered. A new victim for him to read. "Sir, Smithey is asking for you."

Frost noticed the slight stutter and how the man glanced at Hesh more than a few times. His eyes would also dart quickly to the left. He was lying. Interesting. Frost kept all emotion off his face as he watched the man continue. "He says he needs you right away." Lack of urgency in the voice would beg to differ. He noticed that Hesh was staying unusually quiet. He also saw Hesh looking at him but trying to be discrete about it. He wanted to see if Frost was catching on. This certainly was intriguing. Hesh _wanted_ this man to lie to Merrick. _He_ was probably the one who had gotten the soldier to lie in the first place.

Merrick let out an agitated sigh, running a hand down the length of his face. He glared at the man for a moment before shaking his head. "Wait till I get back," was all he said to them before he followed the boy out. That soldier was sure going to get an ass chewing for the shit he just pulled. Merrick was _not _pleasant when he was pissed. Frost decided to become a part of the current unfolding event, pushing his back off the wall. He stepped over closer to the others.

Hesh looked at the specialist that would be preforming the autopsy. "Go ahead," he said. _That's_ why he had Merrick taken from the room. He wanted to go ahead with the procedure. Hesh sure was gutsy, he'd give him that. Brooklyn, however, immediately protested. "Merrick said to wait for him, and this was _not_ his decision."

"Brooklyn, we don't have time for this. You know that. We need to do this now," Hesh snapped. The specialist seemed a little uneasy about going about this without Merrick but he prepped the tools anyway. Brooklyn was already at a disadvantage due to his age. He was currently the youngest in the room. Unfortunately he didn't technically 'outrank' Hesh, so he couldn't order him to stop. He looked to Frost for a bit of back up but Frost was staying out of the argument, choosing simply to observe.

The man waited a few moments longer to see if there where any further interjections but was rewarded with no such thing. He picked up some kind of circular, spinning, saw blade that no one really knew the name of. His plan was to cut open the top part of the cranium, right across the forehead. Hopefully, there would be some sort of clue.

The place immediately reeked of decaying flesh once the blade cut into the head. Everyone took a step back when bits of skull where flying about. Everyone except Hesh. He had stepped forward in hopes of finding this 'clue'. He was eagerly peering over to see if he could spot anything. Frost got a sudden terrible feeling in his stomach. This was a bad idea.

"WAIT!"

Brooklyn moved faster than Frost did. He shot across the short distance, shoving Hesh and the man doing the autopsy away from the body. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The blade slipped forward and cut into the area Brooklyn was trying to avoid. The saw bade split open the forehead fully, sending a white, powdery mist sprang up right in front of Brooklyn as he pushed the two away. The poor kid didn't have a choice but to inhale it.

The effects didn't take long to kick in. He immediately dropped to the floor. He was choking and gurgling the whole way down. The specialist ran over and hit a button on the side wall, setting off an alarm. Immediately, the room was locked down. Hesh tried to go to Brooklyn's side but Don grabbed him and pulled him back. The area wasn't safe anymore. They fucked up. Big time.

Brooklyn was having a seizure. His body jerked and shook violently, foam and spit running from his mouth. His blazing amber eyes rolled back into his head and he jerked. He was having repertory failure. Frost helped Don with Hesh, trying to keep him back. Hesh was screaming Brooklyn's name and trying to run to his side.

The boy however, didn't respond. His limbs began to tighten up and curl towards his body. It was painful to watch. Even more so due to the fact that they couldn't go over to help him. They couldn't even turn him on his side. He could drown in his own vomit like that. Suddenly, everything stopped. The gurgling noise had stopped. The shaking and spasms had stopped. The rapid movement had stopped. _All _movement had stopped. Worse still, his _breathing _had stopped.

* * *

"War!? War!?"

Smithey and Sienna had paired up to go look for her. There was no way in hell she could have gone that far. They had been searching high and low but nobody found anything yet. Smithey was following Sienna, who was using her 'gut' instinct to find War. Smithey always believed in trusting your instincts but sometimes he felt Sienna took it a bit far. It's not like they really had anything to go on though, so why not? Sienna was leading them deeper into the woods. Deeper than the rest of the teams where going. War wasn't anticipated to have gotten this far.

Sienna came to a sudden stop and looked around the area they where in. Smithey had expected this. He knew really it was only a matter of time before she came up cold. He sighed. "It's alright Sienna, we'll head off in another-"

"Shh!" She put a finger to her lips and hushed him. Smithey immediately shut his mouth. He focused his hearing like Sienna had done to try to hear what had gotten her attention. Not hearing anything out of the ordinary, he stepped quietly over to Sienna. She still stood stiff as a board. Smithey wasn't entirely sure if she was even breathing at this point. "This way."  
She took off into a dead sprint.

Smithey had not anticipated her to move that quickly. He ran after her, but quickly lost sight of her in the trees. "Sienna! Slow down!" He couldn't hear her anymore. He stopped and looked around, trying to figure out which way she went. Sienna was now off on her own, deep in the woods. He felt panic start to swell in his chest. "Sienna!" He tried calling to her again but heard nothing.

He looked around rapidly, trying to find anything that could tell him which way she went. He tried to follow her scent but it was mixed with too many others. The sounds of the animals crashing through the trees drowned out any noise she could be making. He found himself alone in a small clearing. He felt very overwhelmed suddenly. "Over here," her voice seemed to echo all around him. He had no way of pinpointing the sound. His eyes widened.

_"Smithey! Over here!" _

_He jerked around wildly trying to find her. His heart rate picked up. The screams echoed throughout the trees. Why couldn't he find her? Where did she go? The battle was still raging on around him, seemingly in slow motion. He nearly screamed in frustration. Wave after wave of soldier's where charging them ,yet he didn't seem to care. He was too focused on finding Carly and the other scouts. They__ had scouted ahead when they had been ambushed and were now separated from them. _

_"Smithey! We have to pull back!" He heard Roger's voice but it didn't register to him. He had promised. He had promised she would be fine. They couldn't pull back. You don't leave a man behind. You never leave your friends behind. That was rule number one for the Alphas._

_"Keep moving! Push forward!" He yelled automatically over the gunfire. He saw the disbelief on Roger's face._

_"You idiot! Your gonna get us all killed!"_

_He saw some of the Alphas starting to fall back from the suppressive fire. He shook his head. "Move forward! Push!" The others looked at him in bewilderment. He knew the odds looked bad but there where others that where trapped further ahead that needed backup. He left his cover and ran directly into the charge. _

_The others watched in amazement as he stormed the front lines. Bayonets had been fixed onto the rifles of the opposing army, and he was charging right into it. This seemed to encourage the others, for they charged forward as well. They where more than ready for a fight. He felt the sharp blades nicking his skin and tearing into him. He ignored it and pushed on to find the scouts, knifing anyone who got in his way._

_"Smithey!" _

_He felt the bullet tear through his upper thigh, causing him to fall forward. He landed hard on his chest. He went to pick himself up but something out of the corner of his eye stopped him. The long, wispy, fiery red hair caught his eyes. He then made eye contact with the faded green stare. He was looking into the dead eyes of Carly. He started screaming. He didn't think it was him at first. He thought it was someone else. He immediately got up and started swinging his knife and shooting his gun. He fought like a man possessed. _

_This seemed to fuel the other Alphas as they pushed on, attacking as ferociously as their fearless leader. The number of men was getting cut down, but that didn't really matter anymore to Smithey. He started hacking away at people's throats. If they weren't his comrades they where as good as dead. _

_When the last man was killed the Alphas let out a loud war cry. It was an incredible victory. They had been badly outnumbered and they had still managed to destroy the enemy. This wasn't enough for Smithey. There being no more soldiers to kill he mounted himself on top of the nearest dead one and angrily began hacking away with his knife. Blood splattered from the freshly killed corpse onto his face and clothing, dousing him even more. The Alphas looked at him in horror._

_"Smithey! Smithey!"_

"Smithey!"

He gasped suddenly as Sienna grabbed his shoulders, breaking him from his trance. Still unfocused and startled, he grabbed Sienna's face in his hands and quickly looked her over. "Are you alright?" He scanned her, expecting to see gapping wounds. Sienna was fine but startled by Smithey's sudden odd behavior.

She stuttered slightly. "I-I was just over there. I'm fine."

Smithey was slightly shaking. "Don't do that to me, don't ever do that to me," he panted out. He looked into Sienna's eyes before pulling her into a tight hug. Making sure she was really there. She was _very_ concerned now.

"Smithey?"

Finally fully snapping out of it, he let go and took a few steps away, clearing his throat. "Did you find anything?" He asked, quickly changing the subject. Sienna hung her head and began to chew her lip. That pretty much gave him his answer. He took a deep breath to compose himself.

"Let's head back then." He turned to leave but Sienna's crackled voice stopped him.

"Smithey...? I found a body."

* * *

Hesh had been, yet again, kicked out of the infirmary. It didn't help that Frost was also with him. He was beginning to really hate him. Merrick had told Frost to keep him away, not that Hesh would try to sneak in anyway. He didn't want to get sent out. Merrick had threatened to send him off if he continued to disobey his orders. So now he was trying to stay off Merrick's shit list. Frost was walking in sync with him, which also annoyed him. He was also walking very close to him, not too close but close enough to annoy him. Frost _had_ to have known what he was doing. He was just trying to agitate Hesh.

After standing outside the infirmary for an hour he decided to go see how the search was going. Maybe if he talked to Smithey he would get some good news. Although he knew he was pretty much setting himself up for disappointment. He already felt bad enough. He had caused Brooklyn to get hurt. His comrade, his friend. He was supposed to take care of him and yet he failed him. He was doing that a lot lately. If he had just listened to Merrick and Brooklyn in the first place then maybe he wouldn't be dying in the infirmary right now.

"The only one who blames you is you," Frost said suddenly. Hesh didn't answer, not wanting to talk to the man. Frost didn't seem to mind. He took it as a sign to continue. "Your a lot like your sister. Stubborn, aggressive-"

"Enough," Hesh hissed. He didn't want to talk about War or him right now for that matter. Of course, Frost simply ignored him and continued. "You both think you can take on the whole world, keep everyone safe, but-"

"FROST!" Hesh stopped and glared at the man next to him. He didn't want the man to get under his skin though, so he took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "I said enough."Frost opened his mouth to speak but stopped. His eyes drifted past Hesh to something behind him.

Hesh nearly gasped at the sight. He hadn't even heard the footsteps. He's been too focused on Frost. Standing before him was a _very_ bloody War. She was standing up straight and looking directly at them but not _at_ them. Her eyes where, once again, unfocused. She had also somehow managed to pry the trap off her ankle. Hesh was about to run to her but Frost grabbed his shoulder to keep him back. "War? Are you there?" Frost asked delicately.

The blood was somewhat fresh. It was dripping from her face and onto the floor. Her clothes might as well have been washed in blood. They where stained and soaked. The blood was still streaming down her neck and dripping off her chin. Her hands where covered and shaking as well. Her teeth where bared as if she where trying to talk but couldn't. Her eyes where wide and darting around the hallway. Frost took a very small step back, bringing Hesh with him. "War?" Frost tilted his head slightly to the side. He could tell by the scent it wasn't War's blood, so who's was it? "Did you kill someone?"

War's shaking increased. "N-No, I wouldn't," she paused, sounding unsure. "I don't-No, I didn't... well...maybe." She seemed confused. They took another step back.

"Maybe?" Frost pressed.

"I can hear it clearly in my head but I don't know where..." She took a step forward.

"You don't know? What did you hear War? Is it your chip? Is it bugging you again?" Hesh remained silent, not wanting to interrupt. He was unsure of what to say. He didn't even know what was going on really.

"It's Echo's. I know it is. Only one that makes sense."

"War, what are you talking about? Did you hurt someone? Did someone hurt you?" Hesh tried, concerned that she had mentioned Echo's name.

"I thought it was Sienna, I thought she came back...but I could never see...," she seemed to be trying to recall what happened. They could check her memories if they needed too.

"Someone grabbed you and you lashed out," Frost stated having read her body language.

She nodded. "You can't grab me, she wouldn't grab me. They trained me that way..."

Frost began to step forward. He was starting to understand. "Someone grabbed you, but it wasn't Sienna. You knew Sienna would never grab you, so you lashed out with the knife."

"I was defending myself," she snapped. She brought her hands up to grab her head. "We fell, and I hit the ground and-"

"You hit your head."

War said nothing. Under all the matted and caked blood Hesh could see that the side of her head appeared to be damaged. She must have hit pretty hard. "Are you-!?" Frost grabbed Hesh, covering his mouth with one hand and wrapping his free arm around his throat. He was cut off mid sentence and pulled back into Frost. "Shhh! She's in a survival state right now. The chip activated it when she hit her head. If you try to get near her right now she'll attack you," he whispered harshly into his ear.

He released Hesh and stepped past him. "War, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down. " War looked at him slightly concerned but did so anyway as he tried to slowly approach her. She stood there looking at the floor, panting slightly. He relaxed slightly when he saw her adrenaline spike had gone down. She looked up at him more focused now. "I don't know who it was...I don't even remember if I killed them or not," she said softly. She sighed and looked at Hesh before averting her eyes. Frost had been creeping closer to her until he was within arm's reach. He gently put a hand on her shoulder, covering his hand in blood.

Hesh walked slowly towards her. It was a very slight movement but he saw her step back slightly as he approached. She was unbalanced and swaying slightly. Frost grabbed her shoulders and guided her to the floor. He knelt down next to her and looked her dead in the eyes. "War," he paused a moment and glanced back at Hesh before looking back to the physically exhausted Alpha. "We're gonna have to look at your memories."

**Again, I apologize that you waited so long for a filler. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter posted soon. I've been reading the reviews and I am ecstatic that you guys like Frost :) I thought a lot of people wouldn't like him but I'm glad you like him so far. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Once again, sorry my last chapter took so long to update. I felt really bad about that. So while I was at the horse show this weekend I typed up another chapter on my phone for you guys! Hopefully you enjoy it :) I also made sure it was longer for you guys!**

War wasn't really too thrilled about having her memories put on display. Especially in front of everyone she knew. Frost was getting everything set up while a medic cleaned the blood off her face and the rest of her skin. The man pulled out some gauze to wrap her head but she shoved it away. "I'm _not_ wearing that on my head," she hissed venomously. Hesh knew there was no point in arguing. She had chosen to keep it off so it was staying off.

"Alright War. Let's try to get this working. Because of the fall it's going to be a lot harder to find the memory straight away. We might have to do some digging, so I'm going to need you to focus," Frost said. War gave a simple nod. Frost led her over to the sensor for her to place her hand. No point in stalling. Everyone was in the room with the exception of Brooklyn.

War shut her eyes and tried to focus on the memory of her and Sienna racing back to base. The large screen lit up with images of her memories. The only problem was it wasn't the ones they needed.

"I can't see! I can't see! You can't do it!" They heard and saw Semper on the screen but the image was immediately cut. War squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to find the right memory. She really didn't want them to see everything thats ever happened to her. "Focus War, think about you and Sienna," Frost tried. The discomfort on War's face was greatly evident. Everyone was focused on the events playing on the screen.

"Hey War! Over here!"

They heard CC's voice ring out. Hesh felt his heart break a little bit. Poor CC. The screen was filled with the boy's face. He ran down the hallway and took War's arm, tugging her towards him. "Come on! We're going to go take one of the Humvee's for a spin!" The blonde haired boy wouldn't take no for an answer as he dragged War down the hall. She had a smile on her face as they ran out to the Humvee's. The memory was cut as War jerked her hand off of the reader. She took a breath to clear her head before starting over.

"You want to fight together? So be it!"

Hesh froze when he saw the new memory on the screen. This was when Echo and her fought. He could finally see what had actually happened! Everyone watched as the two crashed though the glass and hit the ground sharply. Hesh felt his heart rate picking up, and he was just watching! He couldn't imagine how War felt in that moment. He watched as War struggled to get up. Both of them needed time to recover but they both knew they didn't have that time. He saw War reach for her holster but her pistol wasn't there. She looked forward and saw her knife not too far away. She began to crawl.

Nobody really fully knew what had happened that night. War never told anyone. She had simply said she was impaled on a spike and that Echo was dead. That was all they knew. She never went into detail. Hesh felt his stomach twist into knots as the two fought each other for the weapon. The whole room was deathly silent, no noise except the sounds coming from the memory that was playing. Suddenly, a wooden spear looking object was brought into view. Hesh's heart nearly stopped. War had been impaled on a wooden spike and he assumed that was the weapon that had done the damage.

Everyone gasped as Echo drove the sharp object through War's stomach area. War simply watched herself on the screen, her face looking drained. The scene seemed to last minutes when really it was only mere seconds. Hesh watched in pure amazement as War took the wooden stake and actually shoved it all the way through herself. It was a moment later that her true motive was revealed when she killed Echo. Nobody dared to speak. Except of course Frost.

"Wait a minute. War, did you just leave him like that?" He looked somewhat alarmed.

War looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Frost, I don't know if you were just watching the same thing we were but incase you missed it, I got stabbed by a wooden stick. So the last thing on my mind was what I should to with the body," she said sarcastically.

Frost's blue eyes had gone wide. Hesh noticed that he wasn't the only one. Smithey and Don also where bewildered. "War! Echo was one of the few Betas with a fully working chip in his head!" Don said.

Hesh was confused. Echo had a chip too? He knew all the Alphas had chips in their heads but War had the only fully working one. He didn't know other groups had chips as well. War removed her hand from the reader and crossed her arms. "Well holy fucking shit. How about you get off my back? Let's see you get fully impaled and still be able to think straight!" War snapped.

"Hold on a minute. Why is this so important?" Merrick asked, not wanting to be left out in the dark.

"If the Federation got their hands on a fully working chip, God only knows what they would do," Smithey said. "Reverse engineer it and make some for their own soldiers probably."

"But do you honestly think Rorke cared enough about Echo to actually go get his body? He probably just left the corpse there to rot," Connor stated. That was a troubling thought. The once proud Beta lying on a filthy floor still decaying and rotting. Hesh tried not to think about it. He would never want to be left like that.

"He would if he knew about the chip," Talon said.

"How would he know if Echo didn't directly tell him about it?" Sienna asked.

"He used to work with the Alphas when he was a Ghost," Keegan said. He was standing next to Rose back in a corner. The air in the room seemed to have gotten thicker. Everyone had lost track of what they where previously doing. Then the long range communicator began to ring.

"Hey, look at that. We do have friends," Connor smiled as the devise began to buzz. Merrick rolled his eyes at the boy and answered it, patching it through so everyone could hear the call.

_"Hey, Merrick. I got some news for you."_

"Segan!" Semper smiled as she heard the familiar voice. There was a slight chuckle over the phone. _"Hey Semper! Is everyone in there?"_

"Yep, you got all the Alphas in here right now," Merrick said, signaling for everyone to stay quiet.

_"Oh...damn I wish I had better news for you then."_ That didn't sound good. Everyone's curiosity had suddenly spiked. _"Look, I know you wanted to go see Derek again but..."_ There was a pause on the line and a sigh. _"Somehow a fire started in his cell. Firefighters put it out and found his body charred on the bed. They want you to identify the body as his."_

* * *

Hesh was sitting next to Merrick on the helicopter. They brought along War, Frost, and Smithey to examine the scene. The three sat next to each other on the opposite side of them, talking amongst themselves. Hesh watched his sister closely. He was worried about her now more than ever. He felt a hand on his shoulder but he simply choose to ignore it. He didn't really want to talk to Merrick. "We'll get whosever responsible," he said.

"How? The man behind all this is dead now," Hesh spat.

"We'll figure something out," Merrick assured him.

Upon arriving at the base they could see exactly where the fire had been. They were still trying to put it out actually. The flames licked at the outside of the building. It must had spread to the outside of the prison. They had all been assured though that it was well under control. Sure.

Hesh really didn't want to go through all this security bullshit again. What was the point? They had just gotten through the first check point and already War was getting pissed. They had called _them_ here and they still were putting them through this?

The prison was on full lock down. Every prisoner had to be accounted for. What a pain in the ass. Prisoners that where in the wing of the fire where moved outside. The only prisoner that was killed was Derek, according to the director of the prison. The man in charge.

"No one is sure how the fire started. We think he may have somehow gotten a cigaret and fallen asleep while smoking it," the man said.

"Derek doesn't smoke," War said as they walked down the never ending halls. The man seemed a little surprised by War's statement. Probably finding it stupid. "Men change in prison," he said.

"Derek wouldn't go through all the trouble for a damn cigaret. That's not how the fire started. He must have gotten something else in."

"I highly doubt that, we have a very secure prison here-"

"Obviously not if you have over two hundred prisoners in the courtyard and one dead in a cell," War snapped. Ouch. That shut him up pretty quick. They had to go through a few other wings to get to the one they needed. All the prisoners where at the bars whistling and making suggestive comments to War. It made Hesh's blood boil.

"Hey sexy!"

"Hey sweetheart! How about you spend the night with a real man!"

"Hey, I'll show you a good time."

One of them directly called out to Frost. "Hey buddy? How about giving me a few minutes with your girl?" Frost raised an eyebrow and shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "I'm pretty sure he'd be dead within the first thirty seconds," Smithey muttered. Hesh hadn't realized that everyone of them was insulted and agitated by the comments. Smithey was gritting his teeth and Merrick's fists were clenched. Frost's face was unreadable but he was a little more tense then he usually was. War showed no signs of caring. Her face stayed blank and she just kept her eyes ahead of them. Although, knowing her, she was probably thinking about burning the rest of the place down by now.

They knew when they had reached the right wing because it was empty. Hesh was thankful for that. The last thing he wanted to deal with were a bunch of men that couldn't keep their hormones in check. That was his little sister for god's sake. The director led them over to the end of the cells. The fire had scorched the walls and the whole place reeked of smoke. Firefighters where moving back and forth down the hallway. Hesh watched two men stomp out a blanket that was still on fire. "That'd be painful," Hesh remarked, referring to the thought of being burned alive.

"When it comes to painful deaths, I'd say burning alive ranks pretty high up there," War muttered as if reading his mind.

The cell looked no better, the bars had practically melted from the harsh heat of the fire. There was nothing left of the bed. The mattress had been burned away, leaving behind the burnt springs and metal frame of the bed behind. The mirror was covered in ash, as well as the toilet and sink. The concrete walls where covered in thick ash and burn marks. Laying on the springs of the bed, still completely in tact, was a skeleton.

"Didn't take long for him to burn up," Smithey commented.

"We just need you to confirm that this is Derek so we can mark him off," the director said. War knelt down next to the body to get a closer look, Smithey doing the same. "Well it's clearly a male," he remarked.

"Late thirties," War verified.

"Sounds like him to me," Merrick shrugged.

"Good, so then we have all of our prisoners accounted-"

"Hold up," War barked. She reached her hand down and picked up the skeleton's right leg. "His tibial shows signs of a brake."

Smithey leaned over. "Yeah, you broke Derek's leg a few years back, remember? That's probably what it is."

War shook her head. "It can't be. That was two years ago. It should be healed."

"Well they said his bone would never fully heal right," he reminded.

"Then it would show some signs of healing," she argued. "This was recent. Very recent. Not to mention it's a clean break. Look." Smithey leaned in and looked carefully at the break. He studied it for a long moment. "Your right."

"He's also a few inches shorter than Derek," Frost pointed out. That was true too.

"So then who's this?" The director asked. Neither of the three answered him. They just exchanged looks. "Is this Derek or not?" He asked in frustration. War stood up and angrily kicked the burnt bed frame.

"This isn't Derek."

* * *

Sienna laid down on her stomach and watched as Talon taught Lake and Connor the knife game. She was trying to keep the two trouble makers occupied. In her gut, Sienna knew this would end poorly. Talon was a pro at the knife game. She moved so fast you almost never saw the knife. She also never cut her fingers. Ever. Sienna never played the game because she thought it was stupid. They were taught from birth that you don't touch the blade of the knife. You avoided it. It could kill you. Obviously some people missed that lesson.

When Talon had suggested the game to the boys she had immediately tried to talk them out of it, but she knew that there was really no point in trying. Damn Talon. After teaching them the game she kept egging them on to go faster. Sienna knew it was only a matter of time so she already had the first aid kit out next to her.

Don entered the room with a sigh and sat down next to Sienna. Talon looked up from watching the two idiots and raised an eyebrow. "Well?" Don shook his head. "I don't know Talon. They wouldn't let me see him. Wouldn't even tell me how he was doing." He put his feet up on the bed and laid his head on Sienna's back, using her as a pillow. "Hey Don! Watch how fast I can do this!" Connor called over.

"I'm watching," Don said, staring straight at the ceiling. Connor pouted. "Your not even watching me!"

Don shrugged. "I don't need to watch you to know what's going to happen." Connor groaned in frustration but began stabbing the knife between his fingers as quickly as he could anyways. Don shook his head and didn't even bother to look over at Connor.

Sienna sighed when she saw the knife tip plunge into Connor's hand. "Son of a bitch!" He yelp, dropping the knife. Talon and Lake just laughed. Don lifted his head to allow Sienna to get up and care for the now bleeding Connor. She walked over with the first aid kit and began to clean and dress the wound. Don sat up and watched her work. "Are you medically trained Sienna?" He asked. She snorted as she wrapped the injury. "Yeah, when we where younger I would go into the infirmary and ask the medics there to teach me the basics. I wanted to be able to treat my friends."

"I got injured a lot," Connor piped up with a smile.

"Yeah, especially Connor. Him and War would always fight so I took it upon myself to learn some medical skills," she smiled.

"So you and Brooklyn really took care of everyone then huh?" Don stated.

Sienna nodded. "Brooklyn was the big brother alright. I can't imagine doing anything without him..." The room fell into silence. No one had any idea how he was doing. Don was taking it hard because he had voted to cut into the head without the MRI. He went to go check on him every half hour, but they wouldn't let anyone see him.

"I remember once when Brooklyn helped me to the infirmary," Talon said. "I got beat up real bad on a mission. Extracting some VIP. I stumbled off the helicopter but no one gave two shits about me. They where too worried about the VIP. I started limping off but I could barely walk. Brooklyn came over and helped me get to the infirmary. He even stayed with me till Don got there."

Don nodded. "I remember that. Him and I where on a helicopter that got shot down once. I shattered my leg and couldn't walk. He dragged me away from the crash site and patched me up till the other helicopter came to get us."

"He always looked after me, well, everyone really," Sienna said. "When I first showed up he'd make sure I was always involved in everything with them. Didn't want me to be left out. There was no hiding anything from him. He'd keep War under control, and Connor out of trouble. He'd check in on me and Semper to make sure we where all right," she paused and drifted off. "We never really checked on him though...We-we never made sure _he _was ok..." Again the room fell silent.

Sensing everyone's morbid mood, Connor piped up. "You know what we should do?" He asked excitedly. Everyone looked at him. Don figured he'd humor the boy. "What?" He asked.

The big goofy smile on the boy's face was concerning. "We should take one of the Humvee's for a drive!"

Don raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know how to drive a vehicle?"

"Yep! I'm the best driver out of the Alphas," he stated proudly. Don gave him a disbelieving look before looking to Sienna for conformation. Sienna saw the look and nodded. "He is."

"How in the hell is your dumbass our best driver?" Talon asked. She didn't believe it either.

Connor shrugged. "Brooklyn taught me the basics then the rest came naturally once we got going."

Sienna smiled. "I remember that. Brooklyn got you started but then you wanted to go faster. Next thing you know, Connor's hauling ass through the Humvee course jumping dirt mounds, drifting around corners, and dodging projectiles," Sienna began to laugh. "The look on Brooklyn's face was priceless! I thought he was going to kill him!" Everyone broke into a laugh, even Connor himself.

"I remember once when we where on a mission. It was Sienna, me, War, Semper, and Brooklyn. Those four somehow got themselves surrounded. I was up on a ridge on the edge of some abandoned town while their all below me with guns pointed at them. I look around and guess what I find?" Sienna started laughing harder, knowing what Connor had done. She points to Connor and answers the question. "He finds a motorcycle."Lake began to laugh, just visioning Connor on a motorcycle.

"Yeah, I find a huge ass motorcycle! I saw it in a garage and thought I could use it, so I-"

"Hold on a second," Don was now leaning forward and looking at Connor. "Have you ever driven a motorcycle before?" Connor smiled and shook his head. "Nope. I had about thirty seconds to learn though." Talon and Don both exchanged looks before allowing him to continue with his story.

"So I get on this motorcycle and _somehow_ I get it started up. Well by now everyone has heard the damn thing start, so I just took off! I started off like a rocket up over that ridge!"

"We where all at the bottom with our hands up," Sienna started, telling from the ground point of view. "We hear this thing roar but nobody knows what it is. I didn't even know what a motorcycle looked like at that point of time. Next thing you know, you hear Connor yelling his little war cry. We all looked up at the same time and there he is on some wild contraception, flying through the air!"

Don laughed. "Your lucky you didn't get shot off the motorcycle!"

Connor's smile widened as he shook his head. "Everyone was too in shock to shoot at me. I was air born until about halfway down the hill. I landed about halfway down and started shooting the guys. There was only one guy left and I came to a stop right in front of this Federation guy! So at this point, I knew I had to say something really cool or I'd look like a dumbass."

"Oh god," Talon shook her head. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'Welcome to America motherfucker!' Then shot him in the face!" Connor said proudly. By this point Lake was literally rolling on the floor laughing. Everyone else was cracking up too. "I thought Brooklyn was gonna kill me! He starts going off on some rant about how stupid that was of me. War was laughing and told me that what I did took balls. Then Brooklyn got mad at _her_ because she was 'encouraging the reckless behavior'."

Sienna had forgotten all about that mission. That was the last one she had with them before she was relocated. She had missed days like this. Lazing around, telling stories, and laughing with each other. Had it really been that long? She didn't want this moment to end. Couldn't they just stay like this forever? Of course not...

The door opened up and everyone looked up to see Rose. The Latino women looked at them apologetically, feeling bad for the interuption. She stepped into the room. All eyes where on her. "The helicopter just landed," she said. "They're back."

**Please nobody attempt the Knife Game. It's really stupid and dangerous, and if you don't know what it is...GOOD! I hope you guys enjoyed :) I hope this makes up for making you wait so long!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I wanted to write this chapter up really quick. I stayed up late writing it.**

War walked into the war room, slamming the door shut behind her. After doing so she stopped and grabbed the door again, slamming it several more time. She leaned up against the wall with one hand and brought the other hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Merrick, Hesh, Smithey, and Frost where already gathered around. Hesh looked at War understandingly. They where all pissed. Derek was now out there somewhere. Free. He didn't have to listen to anyone. He could do whatever he wanted.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Smithey hissed. "Are we seriously just supposed to keep this to ourselves?"

"If word of this gets out we'll be in big trouble," Merrick said.

Smithey angrily smashed his fist onto the table, shaking his head agitatedly. "Frost, anything you could give would be great right now," he said between gritted teeth. Frost sighed. "Well, he's clearly been thinking this through for a while. He clued us in on the head intentionally. He knew someone would be eager enough to crack it open. He's a step ahead of us."

"That doesn't really help," Hesh hissed. He noticed War still hadn't walked towards them. She was still in the same position. Everyone followed his gaze to her. "You alright War?" Smithey asked. He stepped away from the table and took another towards her. Merrick even seemed a little concerned. She still didn't turn to face any of them for a long moment. She lifted her head finally and slowly turned around. She looked defeated.

"I don't know what to do," she walked over and leaned over the table. It was disheartening to see her that way. War was always fired up and ready to go but now she just looked trapped. As if she didn't know what to do or who to turn to. Everyone frowned. Hesh was about to say something but suddenly the results of the autopsy came up on the screen. It was the results of the skeleton.

"Harvey Daniels. Thirty six years old. Former Marine. Currently a Firefighter," Merrick sighed and shook his head. "He was filling in for someone when that fire broke out. One of our own."

"He was just doing his duty. He knew someone was in the cell and he went to help," War said.

"Then Derek ambushed him and broke his leg to throw us off, then he left him to burn to death on the bed," Frost finished.

"Shit," War pushed herself off the table and rolled her head back to look at the ceiling, crossing her arms. "He was just doing his job. He wasn't even supposed to be there," she whispered softly. War turned abruptly and walked out of the room. Hesh went to follow her but Smithey stopped him. "I got it."

Smithey quickly followed her. It wasn't like she could run off. Her leg was still injured from the trap, so she generally just limped. He easily caught up with her. "War. Talk to me. Don't do this. Don't shut everyone out." She shook her head. "Leave me alone Smithey," she growled. He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stop. Surprisingly she didn't fight him. She didn't have it in her, and Smithey realized this. He looked into her dull green eyes for a moment. He needed to motivate her. "Come with me."

She allowed him to take her arm and guide her through the halls. Smithey could be quite the motivator when he needed to be. War was in a rut and he knew exactly how to get her going. He knew how to get under her skin and just what to say to get her going. He took her to the one place that would get her blood boiling. He took her to the infirmary.

They walked through the doors only to be stopped almost immediately by one of the nurses. "I'm sorry but you can't be-" Smithey usually wasn't aggressive with the people on base. He respected them and tried to be fair, but at this point in time he didn't want to hear this bullshit. He shoved her backwards sharply. She nearly tripped over a nearby cart. No time to feel bad.

They came to Brooklyn's room and entered quietly. It was the first time anyone had seen him since the incident. War immediately snapped out of it. She slowly walked over to the bed where Brooklyn lay. His breathing was weak and very off. He looked pale. He was wearing a breathing mask on his face, a sign that he wasn't doing to well repertory wise. An I.V. led to his wrist, giving him blood. He was sweating, a sign that he had a fever. The only sound in the room was the heartbeat monitor. Smithey hung back and allowed War to walk over and hold Brooklyn's free hand.

"So your just going to quit on him huh?" War jerked around and looked at Smithey but she still held Brooklyn's hand. "Your just going to tuck your tail and let Derek get the best of you? I thought you never backed down from a challenge? What happened to the War that wasn't afraid to step up and kick someone's ass? You used to challenge Derek all the time. Now what? Your just going to let him hurt your friends?" It was a harsh slap in the face but War needed the reality check. She needed a bit of tough love.

"Brooklyn got hurt. He's the one who always pushed you guys, who always helped you out. _He _would never quit on you. So now your just going to quit on him in his time of need? Your a poor excuse of a friend War." He stepped towards her, challenging her. He saw a flicker in her eyes, so he continued to push. "Your friend gets hurt so now you want to back down and be a coward? Typical. Your just going to back down when things get too hard. Like you always do." Ok, now he was starting to push his luck. He just needed to ignite that spark. Provoke her into fighting. Even if it got him seriously injured. He just needed that final push. He threw his hands up in the air. "Whatever, quit on him. Just like you did to CC."

She punched him so hard she sent him straight back out the door. He felt his head collide with the wall, causing him to see spots. She stalked forward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him to his feet and into the air. He choked slightly from the harsh grip. Yeah he defiantly bit off more than he could chew. When the hell did this kid get so damn strong?

Her eyes where burning green now. They where no longer dull. That was a good sign. "You think I quit on my friends?! You think I'm a fucking coward!? You think I'm weak!?" She shoved him harder into the wall. "I will burry you up to your neck and leave you to fry in the desert you fucking son of a bitch!" Thank god the nearest dessert was hundreds of miles away.

"I will slit you open and leave you to get eaten by wolves!" This went on for a few minutes. Her threats getting more aggressive and creative as time ticked by. The scariest thing was Smithey didn't doubt she would do it. She would. She so would. Good to see she had gotten her fire back. After a few minutes she stopped making threats and just stared at him, panting. Her eyes didn't have that angry glow anymore. War leaned forward and pressed there foreheads together. "I'm sorry..." She mumbled quietly.

Smithey shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I took that too far. I was just trying to get that spark back in your eyes."

War nodded. "I know."

"You understand why we need you to keep fighting now don't you?" Smithey asked. War released him and took a few steps back. She looked at him with a new spark of determination.

"Yeah, I do."

* * *

"I'd say your ready to get back out there Walker." Logan had healed up very nicely. He had even gone back to training. He had been sparring with some of the other Federation soldiers and was kicking their asses. It was no wonder Elias had made his son a Ghost. The boy was strong and fast. He was very loyal too. Too bad his loyalties no longer lied with the Ghosts. He was the perfect weapon to use against them. "I'm ready sir," he replied eagerly. Rorke huffed in amusement. Of course he was.

"I have a very important mission for you Walker." The eagerness on the boy's face was priceless. He could see it in his green eyes. "Whatever it is sir, I'm ready for it." That was enough for him. He gave Logan a nod. "We have managed to get the location of the Ghost's base. You need to be very stealthy for this Logan."

"Is my brother there?"

Rorke looked at him for a moment. "Yes he is."

Logan's face darkened. "Is that Alpha there too? The one that almost killed me?" Rorke slowly nodded. As much as he wanted to see Logan slaughter that bitch that wasn't the mission. No, he needed Logan for something else. He needed him to strike a crippling blow, and he knew exactly how he would do it. His mole on base had informed him that one of the Alphas had been severally injured and was currently incapacitated in the infirmary. He was even provided with the room number and everything. What was the boy's name again...? Brooklyn? Something like that. He realized he had trailed off when he saw Logan tilt his head slightly. Right, the boy was still here.

"Yes, she will be but that is not you mission Walker." He seemed disappointed by the fact that he wouldn't be killing her. "What about my brother?" Rorke raised and eyebrow. He crossed his arms but he was curious to what the boy had to say. "What about you brother?" Logan swallowed hard. For the first time since he entered the room he broke his gaze away from Rorke, choosing to simply stare mindlessly at his feet. The boy stuttered for a moment, trying to find the right words. Rorke was growing a bit irritated at the slow reply. He took a few short steps forward and grabbed Logan's jaw sharply. He forced the boy to look at him. "I asked you a question, Sergeant." He released his grip to allow Logan to speak.

"I don't want to harm my brother, sir. I know he betrayed us but he was brainwashed. He couldn't help it. You said it yourself, he was a great soldier."

"So what exactly are you asking me?"

"Sir, with your permission I would like to capture my brother and bring him back here."

Rorke thought for a moment. Two Walker boys? Seeing the oldest one tied up by his own brother sure would be a sight. That right there just might make it worth it. He looked at the boy in front of him and grinned. "I'll cut you a deal. While on this mission, if you happen to run into your brother, you have permission to bring him back here. But you will _not_ in anyway jeopardize this mission for him. Am I understood?"

Logan nodded eagerly. "Yes sir. I promise."

Rorke nodded his approval. "Good." He fished the picture of Brooklyn out of his pocket. "You see this boy?" Logan nodded. "He is also an Alpha, but unlike War he is critically injured. Badly. Your mission is to sneak onto the Ghost base and kill him."

* * *

War was sitting across from Hesh in the cafeteria. It was late and she honestly didn't feel like eating anything. She kept thinking about Brooklyn. She couldn't get her mind off of him. She knew all the things Smithey had said to her earlier was just to rile her up but some of the words he spoke really struck deep. She loved Brooklyn. She truly did. She couldn't imagine giving up on him. She remembered all the times he was there for her.

Whenever she was upset Brooklyn would be there to calm her down and talk some sense back into her. MES training was hell and you needed friends to get you through it. The ones that tried to suffer alone usually died about 95% of the time. The other 5% were lunatics that no one associated with. Brooklyn was her better half. He kept her in line. She was sure Derek was thankful for him at the time. He had pulled her off a him a couple times.

She remembered Brooklyn being one of the first true friends she had ever had. She wasn't very old at the time and she had been pretty much lone wolfing her way through training. She had a pretty shitty attitude. She hated people. People hated her too so they were even in her mind. She never went easy on anyone when they sparred. No one ever wanted to fight her because she would snap bones. Everyone feared her, even some of the older MES. For that reason no one really associated with War and that was fine by her.

One day while fighting, some boy tried to sneak in a blade to finish her off. She had disarmed him easy enough but he managed to slice her arm. Bastard. The trainer ordered her to go get cleaned up at the Infirmary. She stormed out of the room but she didn't realize she had been followed. Brooklyn knew from watching her numerous times before that she wouldn't go to the infirmary, so he had gone after her. He was right because she headed straight for the bunks. She remembered how pissed she was that he had followed her but Brooklyn wasn't fazed at all by this. He told her he would fix her arm up if she didn't have to go to the infirmary.

To this day she wasn't sure how, but Brooklyn had somehow managed to talk her down and clean up her arm. Even after the fact he came to check on her because he knew she wouldn't go to the infirmary to have it checked out. That was the beginning of their friendship. They ended up exchanging names, talking, and eating together at lunch. The group then gradually started to get bigger. First came Connor, then Semper, and then Sienna, and finally CC. That was the whole pack.

She swallowed hard and fought back tears. She had no idea she had zoned out for several minutes. Hesh was staring at her worriedly, a hand cupping the side of her face. "Are you ok?" War nodded and pushed her untouched tray away. "Let's go see Brooklyn."

* * *

Logan was actually glad it had started raining. The darkness would conceal him and the heavy rain would drown out any noise he made. Not that he would be stupid enough to make any noise. He was so glad Rorke had allowed him to go alone on this mission. He didn't need anyone else slowing him down. He was glad his CO trusted him with this mission. The base wasn't really well guarded. Only a couple guards were watching the back entrance. Child's play. He dropped the two American's instantly with two well aimed bullets. He crept silently inside.

He switched out his Federation uniform for an American one. It would help him blend in. He grabbed the guards and dragged them off to the sides into the foliage. Anyone just walking by wouldn't think twice. He had a few hours before the shift change. Plenty of time to complete his mission and possibly find his brother Hesh. He hoped his brother was somewhere nearby. He really wanted him to go back with him. He missed him.

Once the uniform was on he walked down the hallway causally, as if he belonged there. A few passing soldiers nodded their acknowledgement to him. A gesture he returned. No need to look suspicious. Just act like you belong. If you do something confidently people will believe in you. Same went with lying. If you told a lie confidently enough, people would believe you. Rorke had provided him the schedule of the infirmary. Whoever this mole was, he was doing a really good job. Logan had picked this late hour because not a lot of people were working and visiting hours where over. This would be the best time to strike.

His face was covered so no one would recognize him. Rorke had informed him that if someone asked to just say he was a Walker. They would mistake him for his brother. No one had asked him for his name so far, but given the fact he stuck out more in the infirmary, he figured it was only a matter of time.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

He turned to see a man standing there with his arms crossed. Logan managed not to panic. He kept himself cool and collective. "Walker," was all he said. "I'm just grabbing some medical supplies."The man looked slightly surprised but nodded. "More supplies already? Those Alphas sure do get into some trouble. Sienna was in here earlier restocking a first aid kit. Sorry about that Sergeant Walker. I didn't recognize you. Carry on." The man walked off and let him carry about his business. Logan suddenly felt the urge to move faster now that he'd been directly addressed.

He scanned the numbers on the wall to find the room he was looking for. 143, 142, ah there it was, 141. He slowly opened the door to see if anyone was inside. Nope. The coast was clear. He quickly entered and shut the door behind him. Looking to the bed he saw the boy he had seen in the picture earlier. He really was in bad shape. The kid was wearing a breathing mask for starters. Logan crept up to the side of the bed and looked at him. He looked sick and weak. The poor kid was struggling to breath. Could he really kill a poor defenseless kid? It didn't feel right. The poor boy could barely breath on his own. He couldn't fight back. Maybe it was better this way. That way he would die peacefully in his sleep. He was doing the kid a favor in his mind.

He softly touched the boy's cheek, feeling the heat radiating off of him. He had a fever. The boy leaned away from the touch and whimpered slightly. Logan removed his skull mask. Leaning down he whispered softly into the boy's ear. "Shhh, don't struggle. It'll all be over soon." The boy showed no signs of understanding but he did start to squirm uncomfortably. Logan realized the fever was making the boy hot and the room was already rather stuffy. He was shifting because he was uncomfortable. He felt bad for the kid. Something in his heart told him not to continue but he pulled out his knife and gently pressed it into his neck anyway. "Shhh, it'll be over soon. You did your duty. Just sleep now."  
It was then the door opened.

* * *

The shock of what she was seeing nearly froze her in place. Logan? That was Logan?! That wasn't all she was seeing. Logan had a knife to Brooklyn's neck. Hesh was behind her and couldn't seem to register this either. The shock on Logan's face was evident as well. The movement was very sudden. There wasn't really anything they could do. Logan removed the blade and with lightning speed and brute force, drove it into Brooklyn's neck.

_Now_ Hesh was moving. It all clicked together. Hesh tackled Logan to the ground with a sharp thud, pinning the younger male to the ground. Logan was desperately thrashing and growling, trying to brake free. War screamed and ran to Brooklyn's side. His amber eyes where wide open now from having been painfully aroused from his deep sleep. Blood flowed onto his neck and leaked onto the once white bed. War pressed her shaking hands around the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, being mindful of the knife sticking out. Brooklyn's body was spazzing out violently. His body was shaking and his hands reached up towards the handle of the knife. Instead of grabbing the handle they rested on War's hands. She was sure his eyes would roll back into his head but they stayed fixated on her.

"Medic! We need a medic in here!" Hesh screamed.

Brooklyn's hands squeezed tighter around her wrists. "Your ok, your ok," tears began to slip down her face as she tried to coax her friend. Blood was pooling up in Brooklyn's mouth, sputtering up onto the plastic mask as he tried to breath through his mouth. She turned to scream for a medic but a frightened grip stopped her. Brooklyn's eyes had widened further when she turned away from him. He was afraid she would leave him.

Realizing this War's eyes went wide. She slowly shook her head. "I won't leave you...I promise I'll stay right here with you...your gonna be ok..." Tear dripped from her face onto the bed. Brooklyn's head tilted slightly. His now bloodied hand reached up slowly towards her face. She didn't try to stop him. Slowly, with his thumb, he wiped the tears off her face.

Two medics rushed in and tried to remove her from his side but she refused to let go of his hand. For the first time in her life she saw that Brooklyn was...scared. Scared she'd leave him. Leave him alone like she had done so many times in the past when she stormed off. The medics desperately attempted to stop the bleeding. She stepped back slightly but still held his hand. He turned his head to the side to looked at her. "Your ok...just look at me... I promise I'll stay here. I'll do whatever you ask me to do...I'll do whatever you want... just look at me!" He did look at her. Right up until the amber glow left his eyes.

"Brooklyn?" Her voice shook. "Brooklyn!" She tried to squeeze his hand but it had gone limp. His tired eyes now stared at nothing. They were looking past her now. She saw the medics shake their head hopelessly. The heartbeat monitor mocked her with it's long droning noise. The medic unplugged the machine. They started to wheel him out of the room. One of the medics took Brooklyn's hand that she was holding and gently laid it onto the bedside. War was shaking as she watched them wheel her friend away.

She wanted to hear his voice, wanted to hear him get pissed with her. She wanted him to yell at her for being reckless. She wanted to look into those amber eyes she loved so much, even if they where a defect. She wanted to hear his stupid Texas accent that he had slowly been loose one last time. She watched as the medics pushed Brooklyn's motionless body out the door. She wanted to run after him but she was frozen in place. That was the last time she ever saw Brooklyn again.

**I have absolutely nothing to say...I honestly cried a bit while I wrote this**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys!** **Sorry I couldn't get this posted sooner. School's a pain in the butt. I finally got this chapter up today. Thanks to everyone who posted a review! It really helps me write and I like seeing what you guys think. I was very touched by your comments on Brooklyn. I'm glad you guys liked him. He was one of my favorite characters. Anyways, hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think.**

Logan thrashed wildly in the chair, desperately trying to break free from his bonds. War was standing on the other side of the one way window with Hesh, simply watching him. What scared Hesh the most was the fact that War's face was completely emotionless. Her body language offered him nothing. She simply stood there with a blank expression. She hadn't spoken since they wheeled Brooklyn away. Hesh might have been more in shock like her had he not been trying to keep his little brother under control. He had called Merrick down to the room rather then going to get him. He was afraid to leave War here alone. By now Merrick knew what was happening. Merrick, Smithey, and Frost all charged into the room with concerned expressions.

Smithey's first concern was War. He looked at her once he entered, trying to read her face. He looked to Frost for help but the man offered no reading. The whole situation had already been explained to the three men. They knew exactly what had happened. The news was terrible. He looked at War worriedly. "War...? He didn't know what he was doing..." Smithey started slowly. She ignored him.

"Do you think this has something to do with the chip?" Merrick asked.

War turned her head slowly towards them and shook her head. "I don't know. The chips never made us do anything like that before." She looked to Smithey for conformation. He nodded his agreement. Sure the chips where a major pain in the ass but nobody ever had no control over their actions. You still had freedom with the chip. If the chips controlled everything you did War probably wouldn't be like the way she was.

"So maybe Rorke just got to him then?" Merrick suggested. War didn't answer him, turning back to watch Logan.

"Rorke wouldn't brake Logan that easy...It _has_ to be the chip!" Hesh said. He looked out at his brother who was struggling fiercely now.

"Hesh," he looked back when he heard Frost's voice. "Go talk to him. See what he does." Hesh glared at him but saw Merrick and War nod their approval. With a sign he left the viewing room, trusting War in the other three men's care. He then went into the actual interrogation room.

Once Hesh entered Logan immediately stopped struggling and he even perked up slightly. "Hesh?" Hesh didn't say anything as he approached his little brother. He sat down across from him in a chair. What the hell was he going to say? He leaned back slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked sadly at his brother before looking anywhere but at Logan. He couldn't stand looking into those eyes. "Hesh, why are you doing this? It's me." Logan leaned forward towards his brother. Hesh didn't say anything. There was no point. Frost and War were probably just reading them both anyway.

"Hesh, please look at me. I haven't seen you in so long." Hesh felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes at his brother's desperate plea but he kept his gaze downward and his arms crossed over his chest. Logan tried harder. "Please Hesh. I'm trying to help you. You don't know what your doing." Hesh looked up at Logan in confusion now. His brother's eyes where pleading with him, begging him. Hesh shook his head and looked away. "Enough Logan..."

"Hesh you _have_ to listen to me. Your not supposed to be here. Your a Federation soldier!" _That_ got his attention. Hesh sat up straighter and looked at him. "Logan what are you talking about?"

"We work for Rorke! Not the Ghosts! They took you away, they brainwashed you to believe you where a Ghost!" Logan said. Hesh shook his head. "No, Logan your wrong-"

"I'm _not_ wrong! Please Hesh! Just listen to me." Hesh sighed and got up to leave. He had enough of this. He couldn't stand it. "David! Please don't leave me again!" Hesh stopped and looked back at his brother. He walked back over and knelt down in front of him. Reaching a hand up he grabbed the back of Logan's head and pressed their foreheads together. "Logan, I promise we'll fix you. I won't leave you. You'll remember." He got up and walked out of the room, his brother calling after him. Once he was out in the hallway he broke down. Leaning against the wall he covered his mouth in an attempt to muffle his soft cries. His brother didn't remember. How could he forget the day their dad made them Ghosts? How could he forget Merrick and Keegan and everything they had been through together like that?

War came out of the viewing room and rounded the corner to enter the interrogation room. Instead of going straight in she walked over to Hesh. "He doesn't know War...He doesn't remember. He didn't know that Brooklyn was..." He trailed off. She looked at him for a moment. Her eyes were sympathetic. Hesh didn't really understand betrayal like she did. Hell, she was almost used to it. She had been betrayed by Echo, Derek, and now Logan. There were also other situations in the past. War patted Hesh's shoulder and walked into the room. He took a deep breath to compose himself. He wiped away his tear and walked into the viewing room to see what would happen.

War walked into the room and looked at Logan. She didn't approach him at all. She just stood back by the door at first. Logan's demeanor immediately changed. He snarled at her, curling his top lip back in disgust. He leaned back in the chair, wanting to be as far from her as possible. Now War walked right up to Logan, standing a bit in front of him. He spit at her. He actually _spit _at War.

War thankfully ignored the gesture. She extended her hand and delicately brushed her finger tips over his temple, leaning closer as if examining something. Logan watched her carefully, as if he were expecting her to hit him when he let his guard down. After a long moment he jerked his head away, tired of the constant touch. "What do you want from me? You've already taken my brother, what else do you want? Here to kill me? Finish me off?" War kept up the poker face but on the inside she felt sick. Suddenly, Logan exploded "You took my brother from me! I'll kill you! You hear me!? I'll fucking kill you for what you did!" The angry fire in his eyes was concerning. War didn't respond to her brothers hostility. That only seemed to frustrate Logan even further. Once again, he spit in her direction.

Hesh watched at his brother threatened to kill their sister. Why was he acting like this? What was wrong? Why was he so violent with War and not him? "He doesn't remember her..."Frost whispered. It was meant to be to himself, but Hesh had heard it. He looked at Frost skeptically but the man pointed towards the door. "Hesh, we'll get more if _you_ talk to him." Hesh glared at Frost for a moment, wanting to know what he meant. He opened his mouth to protest but Merrick intervened. "Go Hesh."

He re-entered the room once more. Logan's attitude almost immediately changed when he saw Hesh. His eyes filled with worry, but why was he worried? Hesh watched as his brother's eyes flickered from himself to War and then back to him. Was he worried because War was also in the room? He turned to War. "Give me some more time with him. Alone." She looked at him for a long moment. Hesh jerked his head back towards the door, signaling her to get out. After another long moment she left, turning and watching them as she did so. Logan visibly relaxed with her being gone.

"I promise he'll come get us," Logan mumbled. Hesh looked at him. "Pardon?"

"Rorke. He'll come get us. We'll take you home. I promise you Hesh." His green eyes met Hesh's blue ones.

"How do you know?"

"Your just going to have to trust me," Logan said. Hesh shook his head and advanced on his brother. "No, Logan. Listen to me-"

"Hesh, it'll be ok. He'll help you. Rorke can help you."

Hesh knelt down and grabbed Logan's face in both hands. He looked deep into his brother's eyes. He was shaking slightly now. "Logan. Tell me. Now! How do you know this?" Logan shook his head. "I'm only trying to help you," Logan had a sad smile on his face as he looked at his brother. Hesh was concerned now. Was Rorke planning an attack? If he was how soon? He tried to control the anger and disgust in his voice as he spoke. "Logan, when is he coming?"

Logan looked at him then looked at the overly large 'mirror' on the wall. He slowly shook his head. "I can't tell you." Hesh stood abruptly and turned away from his brother. He brought his hands behind his head and tried to calm down. He was slowly loosing his patients with his little brother. Logan sighed. "Why are you so mad at me?"

Hesh turned and glared at him. "Do you know who you've just killed?"

Logan narrowed his eyes. "That's what this is about? Your mad at me for killing some kid?"

Hesh felt his blood start to boil at the way Logan spoke about Brooklyn. "Do you who he was?" He repeated, gritting his teeth. Logan saw his brother was being serious. "I don't know Hesh, it was just some kid. An Alpha." He didn't remember Brooklyn either...

"Hesh, it was some random kid. It had nothing to do with you. It was a blow to the Alphas-"

"That _kid _has a name," Hesh snapped venomously. Logan shut his mouth and looked at his brother. "His name was Brooklyn." Even saying his name brought outrage. It almost felt disloyal to say it at this point. To talk of him as if he were gone. Except he was gone. And he wasn't coming back. "He was a comrade, a friend. Not some dog you can just put down whenever!" His voice was rising. "That boy has saved my life more times then I can count!"

"That _boy _was sick, Hesh. Sick and weak. If anything I did him a favor," Logan said. How dare Hesh raise his voice at him. Couldn't he see he was trying to help? He was doing his job. Hesh angrily kicked over the chair he had previously sat in. It clattered to the floor sharply. Logan watched him closely. After a few moments, Hesh whirled back around on Logan. He stood in front of Logan and got in his face. "That boy got hurt protecting me. Something you couldn't do. Think about that." With that Hesh stood up and headed towards the door. Leaving Logan to stew over his words by himself.

Back in the viewing room, everyone was silent. Hesh had struck a harsh blow but nothing could be done about it now. War was just staring out at Logan who's head was now hanging. Hesh didn't bother to look at his brother. He had seen enough. He crossed his arms and looked at everyone. "Well? What have you got Frost?"

Frost sighed. "He has a _lot _of anger towards War, which surprises me. He showed no anger towards Hesh."

"So what's that mean?" Merrick asked.

"He doesn't remember War is his sister. At all," Frost glanced out at Logan for a moment before continuing. "This isn't because of Rorke breaking him, or at least not all of it is. This is more so a memory issue. The chip must had made him forget things so Rorke just filled in the blanks with whatever bullshit story he came up with."

"So how do we fix it?" Smithey asked.

Frost shook his head. "That's the tricky part. I'm not entirely sure we can."

"Can't you just take the chip out?" Hesh asked. "Why don't we just do that?"

"It's not that simple. If it was do you think we would all be walking around with these things in our head? No. You can't just take it out. It's inserted into the brain. It's apart of the brain. The chip sends slight shocks to different parts of your brain to increase or decrease whatever is needed. In Logan's case the chip has decreased the use of his cerebellum."

"Want to dumb that down for those of us in here that aren't fucking physiologists?" War muttered sarcastically.

"The cerebellum is one of the three major parts of your brain. It plays an important role in your balance, motor control, it also is involved in some cognitive functions such as attention, language, emotional functions, and in your memories. The chip sends a pulse to increase the use of these. Or, in Logan's case, it slows down the pulses the brain sends to this function so it is weaker."

"So Rorke makes Logan forget he's a Ghost and tells him he's Federation. He also makes him forget War and tells him something to make him hate her. What about Hesh?" Merrick inquired.

Frost looked at Hesh for a moment. "Hesh has been with Logan his whole life. He has thousands of memories of Hesh. With how close the two are it's probably safe to say over 80% of his memories involve Hesh somehow. There is no way the chip could make him completely forget Hesh. But he hasn't known War as long. So it would be easier for him to forget all about her."

"So it's safe to say the only one he'll remember is Hesh," Merrick summed up.

Frost nodded. "Exactly."

"What are we going to tell the others?"

Everyone turned their attention to War who was still looking out the window at Logan. It was a good question. One that no one knew how to answer. There was no easy way to tell the others. It was still the early hours of the morning. They had been up all night dealing with this.

"We have to tell them," Smithey said. Merrick gave a slight nod in agreement. "I agree. But we need to do this together. Bring everyone to the war room. They need to know what's happened here tonight."

* * *

Hesh felt himself grow increasingly nervous as everyone entered the room. How would they take it? All of them had come in here thinking it was some stupid briefing. None of them had any idea. He felt his heart breaking slightly. Why did it have to be Brooklyn? Why couldn't It just be him? Why did Brooklyn have to shove him out of the way? Damn it Brooklyn...

"Everyone, I need to talk to you," Merrick started. Everyone was quiet, watching him. "I have some news that all of you need to hear. Around 2400 hours..." he stuttered slightly, not wanting to continue. He took a breath and started again. "At 2400 hours Brooklyn was killed." The silence in the room was painful. Hesh could feel his heart increase. The shocked look on everyone's faces killed him. The air had gotten very thick, very heavy all of a sudden. Then there was outrage.

"What do you mean he 'was killed'?" Talon snarled. She took a step towards Merrick. They knew they would have to tell the whole story. They couldn't leave them all in the dark on this. It wasn't right. They needed closure, especially since none of them would be able to see the body.

"Last night the base was infiltrated by a soldier-"

"Who the hell was it!?" Talon growled. This wasn't going well. Don was furious too but he had managed to keep his outbursts to himself. Hesh studied all the faces. He could see tears in both Semper and Sienna's eyes. He made eye contact with Sienna who gave him a heartbreaking look. He looked away. Both Lake and Connor hung their heads, neither boy saying a word. Even Rose seemed to be caught off guard.

Merrick sighed. "The soldier infiltrated the medical facility and stabbed Brooklyn in the throat. He died fairly quickly."

"And what of the soldier?" Don growled.

Merrick looked Don in the eyes. "The soldier was Logan." Even Talon fell silent. The whole room was dead. Hesh felt like he couldn't breath, the air had gotten so heavy. Don brought a hand to his head and looked down. Talon's mouth just hung open in shock. She took a step away towards Don.

Sienna looked at Hesh walking towards him slowly. "It's not true...please tell me it's not true." Hesh looked at her. He couldn't speak. His throat had closed. The look in his eyes must had said it all because Sienna's eyes had widened, tears flowing freely now.

Talon was the first to fully recover from the cruel blow. "This is all your fault!" She shouted at Merrick. Tears stung her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She pointed a finger accusingly. "He'd be fucking fine if you hadn't have isolated us from him! You ordered them to keep us out and now look what happened! We never even got to see him!"

Merrick sighed. "I realize your upset but I ordered that to protect Brooklyn-"

"A hell a lot of good that did him!" Don roared, joining Talon. Merrick was being ganged up on now. "One of us could have been with him! You son of a bitch!"

"Guys, stop it," Sienna said. She rested a hand on Don's arm, the more rational one of the pair, only to have him jerk away. Lake tried to help too. "You guys can't be mad at Merrick. He was trying to help. If anything you should be mad at Rorke. Come on guys calm down."

"I know your upset," Merrick started. "I truly am sorry about what happened. I never could have anticipated that this would occur."

"So what's going to happen to Logan?" Talon spat. Did she really want Logan to pay the price for this? She couldn't possibly want that, could she?

"We will handle it," Merrick said.

"Yeah because you've done a great fucking job at that!" Don spat. He and Talon both stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind them. Everyone remained silent for a moment. "Why would Logan do that...He would never do that..." Sienna said. Connor had pulled Semper into his chest, allowing her to cry. It was heartbreaking to see both Lake and Connor sad. The two were always happy, and laughing. It didn't seem right.

"Wait a minute," Lake said, grabbing everyone's attention. "Did they turn left?"

Sienna wiped her eyes. "I think so. Why?"

Lake raised and eyebrow. "Isn't the interrogation room that way?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been updating lately. I was working on _We're Family. _I'm going to be working on _We're Still Here_ though for a while now. Getting back into the swing of it :) And also, to that guest reviewer, Night, I don't appreciate what you said to my friend so if I were you, I'd keep your over analyzing opinions to yourself.**

Lake, being the fastest, was the first one to catch up to them. The boy could really move when he wanted too. He ran down the halls towards the room Merrick said Logan would be. He quickly found the room and barged inside, forcing the door open. He stopped when he saw Logan backed into a corner. The side of his face was bloody as if he had been punched. The two Alphas had him backed up into the corner. "Talon! Don! Stop! Can't you see he's frightened?"

Logan's eyes flickered from Lake to the two in front of him. He had been just sitting there when the door had opened. He expected it to be Hesh. Instead it was two Alphas. The next thing he knew he was being punched harshly by the man and then he was cut loose by the girl. The boy had kicked him around a bit until he had managed to back himself into the corner.

"Lake, stay out of it," Don hissed over his shoulder. The older male cocked his arm back to punch the frightened and confused Logan. Lake moved quicker than Don. He ran forward to protect Logan. He pressed his back into the man's chest, pushing Logan further into the wall away from Don. The punch hurt. His head snapped to the side from the force of the blow but he refused to move. He stretched his arms out, keeping Logan behind him. "Don, he doesn't know what's going on," Lake choked out. Just because he was an Alpha, didn't mean he had to be cruel. He could feel Logan shaking slightly behind him. "He doesn't remember...he doesn't understand what's going on. Just leave him alone," Lake reasoned.

Don froze when he realized what he had just done. He hadn't even seen the kid standing there. Lake had just moved so fast. He took a step forward towards his friend. "Shit...Lake, I'm _so_ sorry." Lake was panting slightly from the shock of being punched by his friend. It caused his adrenalin to spike up a bit. The punch had actually split his lip, causing blood to drip down off his chin and onto his grey shirt. When Don stepped towards him he pushed Logan further against the wall behind him. He didn't want Don to hurt him. It wasn't right. Logan was one of them. He was just confused. They couldn't turn their back on him now.

Logan was very confused at this point. This boy was an Alpha, yet he was protecting him from the other Alphas. Why was he defending him? He had killed his teammate. That was why the other two had come in, wasn't it? To smack him around and maybe even kill him for what he did to their friend? Why did this boy go out of his way to protect him? It didn't make any sense. He had even took a punch, a strong one at that, for him. He didn't dare move. He didn't dare speak. Not even when he was being painfully pinned to the wall by his 'savior'.

Don was slightly hurt when his friend flinched away from him. He didn't mean to hit him. He honestly didn't. He was aiming for Logan. Talon had also gone eerily quiet. Everyone in the room had. He looked up into Logan's eyes. He was frightened, or at least at this point, uneasy. He was expecting more of a fight honestly. Threats and challenges just like from any other enemy. All he really wanted to do in that moment was beat Logan repeatedly. But he couldn't do that...not with Lake here. He relaxed his shoulders, Talon doing the same but not to his extent. They where both still angry but he didn't want to hurt Lake. Lake wasn't the enemy here.

Sienna and Smithey ran in next. "Don, Talon, he didn't know what he was doing. Back off," Smithey ordered. "We will handle this." Don turned and glared at Smithey as he entered the room. "He killed our friend. The only reason he looks this good right now is because of Lake," he growled. Smithey narrowed his eyes. Don was challenging him. Challenging his authority. Sienna tensed a bit but took a step back to let the boys handle it. Smithey got right up in Don's face. He'd be damned if he let Don of all people push him around. "You come anywhere near this room again, I will have you demoted so fast your god damn head will spin," Smithey hissed. "Stand. Down."

Talon looked like she would resist but Don shot her a look that seemed to be enough to make her comply. She turned and angrily stormed out of the room, shouldering past Merrick as he showed up with the others. Don followed her out, growling under his breath. They just needed time to cool off. Get their heads on straight. After that they would be fine.

"Lake, are you ok?" Sienna asked, seeing that the boy was slightly dazed from Don's punch and bleeding from the lip. She walked over too him slowly so she wouldn't startle Logan.

"I-I don't think so...I feel sane," he said, dropping his arms and holding his head. Leave it to Lake to crack a joke. Connor laughed at his delirious friend. "You get the sense knocked back into you? Damn, we should have punched you in the face sooner!" Lake gave him a goofy grin and a thumbs up.

War rolled her eyes at them. "Yep, he's fine."

Logan squirmed out and around Lake, putting some distance between him and the others who had just shown up. He was greatly outnumbered and they were all standing by the door. There was no point in trying anything. He wasn't stupid. He knew he didn't stand a chance. He tried to pick out the weakest member. Possibly someone he could grab and use as leverage. He saw no Alpha really fitting that description. Not to mention he was already in a weak state. He wasn't even to full strength. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Tilting his head curiously he stepped back over towards the younger girl standing by the boy who had saved him. He reached out and grabbed her wrist.

She had jumped but didn't move as Logan examined the object on her wrist. It was a bracelet. He twisted it around with his fingers and studied it for a moment. He recognized it. Logan made his survival bands different from others. He put an extra knot in the ones he made. Something he always did as a kid. He knew it was his. He had made this bracelet. So why was this Alpha girl wearing it? Did she steal it? Maybe she had grabbed it off a Federation Solider or something. One of his friends. He didn't notice everyone in the room had gone incredibly silent and was watching him until a moment later.

Logan suddenly released his grip on Sienna and backed off, not wanting to provoke another attack on himself. He stepped back towards the opposite corner of the room, staring everyone down. Daring them to try and attack him. Smithey started herding everyone out. They couldn't _all_ be in here. Just the original five of them. Sienna, however, didn't want to leave. She approached Logan slowly. He had remembered. He remembered the bracelet he made her.

"Do you remember me Logan?" She asked slowly. Logan just glared at her, backing further away. He saw the number of Alphas in the room dwindling but a few of them stayed. Smithey walked over and gently led Sienna out of the room. They needed to talk to Logan. The problem was that now Logan wasn't tied down to the chair. He might try to struggle. Especially with War in the room. No one could really see this ending well.

"Leave me alone," he growled. He felt like he was about to be jumped.

"Come here Logan," Hesh said gently. Logan needed to be restrained again. It was for his own good. He could hurt someone or himself if they allowed him to walk around the room freely. Logan looked at his brother and shook his head. "No...your going to tie me up again."

"Logan, it's for your on good," Hesh said gently. As much as he hated the thought of tying up his own brother he knew it had to be done. Logan shook his head and looked around the room for anything he could use as a weapon or maybe even another way out. War looked at Hesh and gave a slight shrug. "Well, hell, he already hates me. Might as be the one to tie him up. No skin off my bones." Hesh narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Hush up," he snapped. He didn't want Logan to hate his sister and he hated the fact that War joked about it like it was no big deal.

Suddenly, the alarms went off. Shit. They where under attack? The base shook, causing him to stumble. The lights flickered and then went out, causing the emergency lights to kick on. They all exchanged looks. Merrick was the first one to speak up. "Get your weapons and move! Follow me!" Didn't have to tell them twice. Hesh glanced back at his brother who now had an unnerving smile on his face. This wasn't right. He shut the door and secured it so Logan wouldn't get out.

They all kept weapons on them at all times but sidearms weren't going to last them long. They headed to the armory at the other side of the base. Running down the halls they saw Lake and Connor also running to meet up with them. There was no sign of the others yet. "I didn't touch anything I swear!"

"Not now Connor!" War barked. She wasn't in the mood for Connor's jokes. They reached the armory and started to arm themselves, other soldiers and Alphas doing the same. Merrick and Hesh did a quick head count of all the Alphas. "Where's Sienna at?" Hesh asked. Sienna was the only Alpha that hadn't been to the armory. The base shook again. War glanced around and saw that Sienna wasn't there. "I'll go get her!" War left the armory fully loaded with knives and others guns.

"Head down to the east wing!" Merrick ordered a group of soldiers. "Alphas on me! We head to the west wing!" The west wing was the weakest area and was more likely for forced entrey. That also seemed to be the area under attack, judging by the location of the bombs. Hesh looked around. "Brooklyn! Your on me!"

Smithey, the closest Alpha, looked at him. "Who?" Hesh hesitated. It seemed like him and Brooklyn had always ran into a fight together. Back at the warehouse the two of them had fought side by side. He remembered Brooklyn had been shot and he was the one to fix him up.

Smithey was looking at him with slight concern. He put a hand on Hesh's shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze. "I got your back brother." Brooklyn used to always tell him that. He always assured him he had his back. Hesh was glad to have had Brooklyn. He looked into Smithey's eyes and nodded. Brooklyn was gone, but he still had his comrades.

"Move out!"

They ran out to the west wing stealthily, yet fast. Federation soldiers had already infiltrated the base. Smithey grabbed Hesh and jerked him down another corner just as the bullets started flying. Hesh nodded his thanks as he returned fire. Talon ran across the open hall to their side. "Hesh! You got a knife?" Hesh was about to give her his knife but Smithey pulled out several small throwing blades for her. He winked. "Your welcome." The previous outrage of events had long been forgotten.

"On your six!"

Talon turned and sent a blade flying into a Fed's neck, knocking the man backwards onto the floor. "Their coming from behind!" She called over. Merrick threw a grenade back behind them, taking out several more Feds trying to sneak up on them. "Move up! We need to cut off their transports outside!" Merrick ordered. Hesh ducked as a bullet whizzed by his head. There was a machine gun going off, keeping them from firing back. "We're pinned down!"

"Someone needs to move up and take that bastard out!" Don growled.

"The areas not clear!" Merrick snapped.

"Sir! I can make it!" Hesh could hear Lake yelling over the gunfire to Merrick.

"Negative! That things popping three hundred rounds a minute! You'll be swiss cheese before you get close!" Merrick screamed back.

"I can make it sir!"

Before anyone could stop him, Lake ran from cover and darted as fast as he could. "Lake! You fucking moron!" Talon screamed after him. She tried to cover him but was forced back as bullets pelted the wall where her head would have been. Hesh grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and jerked her back out of fire. "Stay down!" They had to scream to be heard over the gunfire. Hesh could see Merrick trying to bark orders to them, yet nothing could be heard. Then the gunfire stopped.

"Enemy neutralized!"

Hesh peered around the corner and saw Lake standing next to the machine gunner. He stood there with a grin. "You stupid son of a bitch!" Talon growled. She rounded the corner and marched over to Lake. Hesh half expected her to punch him. Instead, she walked over and pulled the boy into a hug. "Don't ever do something stupid like that," she said. Merrick signaled the others to move up.

"Come on! We need to move!"

Taking point, Merrick led them down the halls, checking other hallways to make sure they weren't ambushed. Smithey still stayed close to Hesh. Just in case. "Don, Talon, Connor, Semper, Rose, take the left and meet us outside. Flank them on their right. I picked up radio contact with the others outside," Smithey said. They branched off to the left, leaving Merrick, Keegan, Smithey, Hesh, Frost, and Lake to continue. They needed to get out of close quarters and move outside into the open. There was more cover in the trees and they needed to asses the situation.

"Lake, you and me are breaching the door," Smithey said. The building seemed to have gone eerily quiet. No gunfire. No yelling. Nothing. Dead silence. Something didn't feel right. Lake and Smithey moved to the door while everyone else stepped back and readied their weapons. "Three, two, one, NOW!" Lake and Smithey kicked open the doors leading out of the west wing. Instead of the open yard that they expected, there was a whole army of Federation soldiers aiming right at them. "Shit. Move back!" Merrick yelled. They turned to run but just found themselves face to face with even more soldiers.

The barrel of a rifle was pushed into their faces. Lake bared his teeth and snarled. "Easy, easy. Put your guns down," Merrick said slowly. Lake and Smithey stared at the soldiers a moment before slowly setting down their rifles. Frost leaned forward and whispered to Hesh. "Their scared. They all are. They don't know what to expect from Alphas." That was a little helpful. Maybe that could be used in their favor. The soldiers led them back outside into the center of the Federation army. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

Hesh growled as he heard Rorke's voice. The man stepped towards him and Merrick. "We have all the Alphas and Ghosts right here. You make this too easy." Before Hesh could say anything Lake spit in the man's face. Immediately, Frost grabbed Lake and stepped in front of him before Rorke could hit him. The Sheep Dog in him coming out. Hesh watched as Rorke wiped the spit from his face. He noticed it was bloody. He glanced back and saw Lake holding his side. Damn it! He must had gotten struck when he went for the machine gunner. "The fire in you Alphas will never cease to amaze me." Rorke's voice drew his attention away from Lake.

"Hate to break it to you but this isn't everyone," Hesh growled. Rorke smiled at him. He turned and yelled something in Spanish. Hesh saw Logan step forward out of the group of soldiers. "There you are Walker. Your brother is completely unharmed. Just like you wanted." Hesh narrowed his eyes.

"Ah, and I believe this is the last of them."

Hesh looked over and saw the others being held at gun point being moved over to them. Even Rose had been captured. He had hoped at least she would be able to get away. He saw Talon giving all the soldiers deadly glares. Don and Keegan had a pistol to the back of their heads, probably from trying to retaliate. Connor was keeping Semper close to him. Hesh and Merrick looked at each other.

"Where's War?" Logan asked, narrowing his eyes when he saw she wasn't present. Hesh had nearly forgotten about War. She was with Sienna! They weren't with them. Rorke glanced around and mentally did a head count. Hesh saw him grit his teeth together. "Where are the other two?" No one said anything. Not a word. Sienna and War were out their somewhere. Maybe they could help.

Rorke sighed. "We're gonna do this the hard way huh?" He moved forward and grabbed Lake by the collar of his uniform, dragging him out of the small group and away from them. "Hey!" Frost moved to advance on Rorke but a soldier put the barrel of their weapon to his face.

Lake didn't struggle much in Rorke's grip. He looked slightly pale from blood loss. Hesh could see the growing stain on his shirt. Instead of flipping out like most soldiers would, Lake actually chuckled slightly. This caused Rorke to stop and bring him closer to his face. "You think something's funny?" Lake smiled and nodded his head. His hands where grabbing at Rorke's hand in a pointless attempt to pry him off. "If I were you boy, I would be very scared right-"

"Pft. Scared of you? Your not scary. Your just some guy who gets off on killing people. Now, War? Hell, she scares me. I wouldn't ever mess with her. I'm not stupid. But apparently you are."

Rorke drove his fist into Lake's gut, sending the boy to his knees. He spit up blood and wheezed, trying to get air back into his lungs. Rorke pulled out his pistol and placed it to the boys head. "No! Stop!" Hesh called out. Rorke simply cocked the pistol. "Tell me where the other two are. Call them out." Again, no one said anything. Rorke shrugged and put the pistol against Lake's temple.

"Wait. Wait," Lake coughed out. "I'll call to them..." Hesh's eyes widened. He couldn't be serious? Rorke pulled the pistol back and allowed the boy to talk. Lake slowly got to his feet. He looked around out into the trees. He glanced back at his friends that were all gathered around looking at him in horror. He swallowed the knot in his throat.

"War! Sienna! I don't know if you two are out there right now. I'm just going to assume you are. Your both fast, your both smart. I'm sure you managed to get out of the base," he chuckled a little as if he had told a joke. "I'm going to ask you two to do something for me. I'm calling in that favor you owe me for saving your ass, War." He smiled down at the ground and shook his head before continuing. "Regardless of what anybody behind me thinks. You need to do this. It's really difficult for me to ask this from two young Alphas. You really shouldn't have to do this." He looked back at everyone once more. Hesh felt his heart pounding. If he told them to come out Logan would surly kill War without thinking twice.

"I need you two to do this. It's going to be really hard for you. Especially you, War, because you have a _huge_ fucking ego. I'm asking you to stay where the _fuck_ you are, and kill this piece of shit! No matter what happens! You don't surrender! You don't back down! I don't outrank you but I'm older than you so that's an order!" Lake turned and walked straight up to Rorke, getting into his face, lip curled back in a snarl. Rorke held the pistol between his eyes. Lake didn't even flinch. He glared at the man in front of him. "_Do it_ you piece of shit."

Rorke didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger, sending the bullet straight threw Lake's skull, splattering blood everywhere. The boy dropped lifelessly to the ground with a sharp and sickening _thud._ His now lifeless green and blue eyes starring off at nothing. His normally cheer filled eyes were dull. His mouth hung slightly open, but the only thing coming out was blood.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! I worked on this chapter all day to try and get it up for you. Hopefully it isn't too bad. I hope you guys enjoy it. I appreciate all the reviews from you guys! Sorry I killed Lake :( A lot of you guys were upset that he died right after Brooklyn's death. The journey ahead gets more brutal.**

Sienna and War crept along the edge of the trees silently. War had heard over the radio that the others were heading to the west wing. War didn't like being in close quarters. She had somehow convinced Sienna to ditch the safety of the building and go out into the cover of the trees to work their way to the west side. It was odd. At some point, everything just seemed to stop. The gunfire had ceased. All yelling had stopped. The only thing that really could be heard were some birds that weren't smart enough to high tail it out of there. Something wasn't right.

"War look!" Sienna whispered. They got lower and moved slower upon seeing a large group of Feds. They weren't firing. They had just all gathered around. Why? Something was wrong. Sienna gasped and grabbed her arm, pointing towards the center of the groups. Shit. They had all the others. They where close to exposure, near the edge of the trees. War spotted a fallen tree and ducked them behind it to remain undetected. It was close enough for them to hear and see what was happening, and the log provided excellent cover.

"War! Sienna! I don't know if you two are out there right now. I'm just going to assume you are. Your both fast, your both smart. I'm sure you managed to get out of the base." War peeked around to see who was speaking. Whoever it was, he chuckled a little as if he had told a joke. "I'm going to ask you two to do something for me. I'm calling in that favor you owe me for saving your ass, War. Regardless of what anybody behind me thinks."

Was that Lake? That _was_ Lake. She knew that voice. She recognized those eyes. He was battered and bloody. "War! We have to help him!" Sienna said. She went to jump over the log to go help Lake and the others but War grabbed her and pulled her back. "Sienna, we can't!" War hissed. They couldn't be seen. They _had_ to stay out of sight.

"You need to do this. It's really difficult for me to ask this from two young Alphas. You really shouldn't have to do this. I _need_ you two to do this. It's going to be really hard for you. Especially you, War, because you have a huge fucking ego." Was he asking them to show themselves? To give themselves up? No, Lake wouldn't do that. His words made it sound like that would be his request but his tone of voice said otherwise. "I'm asking you to stay where the fuck you are, and kill this piece of shit! No matter what happens! You don't surrender! You don't back down! I don't outrank you but I'm older than you so that's an order!"

They were both peering over the log watching Lake. After his rant the older boy went to face Rorke. War felt her heart jump into her throat. Lake wasn't supposed to be serious. Lake was almost never serious. He was always the funny goofball. He and Connor. To see the sudden shift in his attitude rattled her. He was telling them to stay hidden. Ordering them to stay away. Lake was _ordering_ them. He never did that.

Sienna's breathing had picked up as Lake went face to face with Rorke. War knew what was about to happen. Lake knew what was about to happen. Sienna had to have realized that too right? The crack of the gun sent Lake to the ground with a harsh thud. Even though she had anticipated it, it still shocked her.

Sienna gasped and tried to move out from cover but War grabbed her and jerked her back down. She covered a hand over Sienna's mouth and pinned her against her chest. Sienna thrashed and kicked at her but War took the blows and kept her still. Sienna's eyes went red, War could feel her tears hitting her hand. War was crying to. Tears slipped down her cheek and onto the ground. _They couldn't show themselves_, she told herself. They couldn't. She listened for more voices.

"Get them all loaded up! We move out now!"

War didn't move. She held Sienna still. She glanced back through the rotted holes in the trees. She saw Logan standing next to Rorke. The Ghosts and Alphas were being loaded into armored vehicles. They must have a transport around here somewhere. Sienna had stopped struggling at that point, simply going limp in her arms. War carefully let her go, just to make sure she didn't run out into the open.

"We have to help them," Sienna said. She wiped the tears from her eyes. Lake was a close friend of hers. They had showed up together during the battle in the warehouse, they where stationed together, and they went on missions together. War had forgotten how close they were.

"Sienna listen to me." War turned Sienna towards her so they made eye contact. She wanted her to see the seriousness in her eyes. "This is a very delicate situation. You remember that mission in Africa?"

Sienna shook her head no. "I was gone by then. I wasn't on that mission."

War sighed and dragged a hand down her face. "Shit. Ok, well in Africa, Brooklyn and Semper were captured and it was up to me and Connor. Hostage situations are different and need to be handled very carefully. More so than other missions. You have to think ahead and plan in advance."

"What are we going to do? There's only two of us," Sienna said.

War thought for a moment. She was right. It would be tough to pull all this off alone. This was the Federation. They would need help. That's when she got an idea. "Actually, no. No, we're not alone."

* * *

Hesh didn't even look up when he heard the sound of the door opening. There really wasn't any point. He knew who it was. The dark low chuckle confirmed this. Rorke walked in behind Hesh, hooking two fingers under his chin. He pulled back, forcing Hesh to look up at him. He leaned down closer to his face. "I'm so glad I'll finally be able to finish what I've started. It's been too long."

Hesh spit in his face, causing the man to release him and stumble back. He wiped the fluid from his face with his sleeve before walking back around to face the boy. "You got the same fire as Logan did when he first got here. You should have heard him screaming for you."

Hesh's eyes narrowed. He fought against his restraints, trying to get out of the chair. "Fuck you!" Rorke smiled at having gotten a reaction from the younger man. Hesh barred his teeth in a snarl, showing defiance in his blue eyes. Rorke pulled his knife but it didn't intimidate him. Rorke put the blade to his cheek and slowly stroked down his face, but not hard enough to draw blood. Hesh clenched his teeth. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath before forcing himself to relax and keep his face neutral. "Where are the other two?" Rorke asked.

Hesh said nothing, keeping his eyes forward. Rorke let out a sad sigh before putting away the knife. He walked behind Hesh again, resting his hands on his shoulders. "You know we will find them eventually Hesh. Your only delaying the inevitable." He clenched his teeth. "Where's the youngest Alphas? Sienna wasn't it? And War?" Rorke smiled when he felt Hesh tense. "I was going to make their friends watch as Logan slowly killed them. I suppose it'll just have to wait."

"Leave them alone. This is just between you and the Ghosts. Leave the Alphas out of it."

"Well, it _was_ just between us but then you had to go and bring all of them into this." He began to rub Hesh's shoulders, trying to lower his defenses. "You could have just listened and gone with your brother. It would have made this process that much easier."  
Hesh jerked away from Rorke's hands, breaking out of his grip. "What did you do to my brother!? Where is he!?"

"Why don't you just tell me where the other two went? Make things easier on everyone else."

"I'm not telling you shit..." Hesh looked down at the floor. Rorke was messing with him. Trying to break him. He was trying to make him feel guilty. He was messing with him... "Did you abandon them like you did your brother? Is that why they weren't with you?"

"No, I-"

"You know, you left poor Logan to fend for himself."

"No-"

"You abandoned him just like you did to Brooklyn. You should have heard your poor brother screaming for you to come save him. He'd plead with me to see you. He missed his big brother."

"No, I didn't leave Logan...I would never-"

"But you did Hesh. You left him here with _me_."

Hesh shook his head desperately. He tugged at his restraints. "I didn't leave him...I didn't." Hesh started to shake with anger. He felt sick and nauseous. He could just hear Logan's voice in his head. Begging him to save him. If he had gotten Logan back safely then maybe Brooklyn would still be alive. "You son of a bitch! This is your-!"

Rorke clasped a hand over his mouth abruptly, injecting him with some mysterious liquid. Hesh's breathing quickened as he tried to break out of Rorke's grip. "Shhhh, just something to help you relax." The drug kicked in almost immediately. Hesh felt himself getting very tired. He felt dizzy, he felt sick. His eyelids where getting very heavy and before long he was unconscious.

* * *

"Sergeant? Hesh? Hey, come on Hesh wake up."

He recognized the voice but he couldn't place it. He wanted to open his eyes but his eyelids were too heavy.

"Sergeant Walker?"

He _knew_ that voice.

"Hesh? Hey man, are you ok?"

_Brooklyn_. That was Brooklyn!

Hesh finally opened his eyes and looked around the room. Everything was so fuzzy. "Well good to see your finally awake. It's _so_ good to see you again. Are you ok? Can you focus on me?" Hesh looked up to see the smiling face of his friend. He saw the twinkle in his bright amber eyes. It was Brooklyn. His friend. His _dead_ friend. "Brooklyn?" The boy smiled at him. Hesh shook his head. "I've lost my mind. Your not real."

Brooklyn looked down at himself then back up to Hesh. "Well, you call me what you want but I should really check to make sure your ok. What hurts?"

He could feel the sweat dripping off his face. The room felt hot. "I was drugged, your just my imagination. A mirage."

"Hesh-"

"Your not real..." He refused to believe it. The boy just smiled. He seemed happy to see him. "Ok buddy..." Hesh looked down at his wrists. They were still tied down and the rope had cut into his skin. His wrists were bleeding slightly. He tried to jerk his hands free but to no avail. Brooklyn tilted his head slightly. "Want some help with that?"

Hesh shook his head. "Your not real! You can't help me!"

The man merely nodded in understanding and began to casually walk about the room, allowing Hesh time to calm down. Hesh squeezed his eyes shut. "He isn't real. Your seeing things. Rorke is messing with you," he reassured himself. His eyes snapped open, hoping the apparition was gone. Brooklyn, seeing the sudden and quick movement, looked over at Hesh. Seeing his wide eyes he glanced over his shoulder to see if someone had come in, causing Hesh to panic. He then realized that Hesh was actually shocked to see he hadn't disappeared yet. "Oh, no I'm still here." Hesh narrowed his eyes and went back to trying to free his hands.

Brooklyn looked into Hesh's eyes. "How about I just give you a hand?" He walked over and untied the ropes restraining Hesh. "There we go," Brooklyn smiled as he freed Hesh from his bindings. Hesh looked at his hands and feet in amazement. He rose from the chair and grabbed Brooklyn by his shoulders. The boy was clearly caught off guard. For a moment he thought Hesh was hurt and needed support to stand, but Hesh just grabbed him, his eyes going wide. "Hesh? What are you-?" Hesh pushed him up against the wall. "Your not a mirage."

Brooklyn looked at him in confusion. "Yeah...I'm aware of that. I stated this before if you recall."

Hesh shook his head. "Your a ghost."

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm a ghost?"

Hesh released him and pointed at the chair. "I couldn't have gotten out of that by myself."

Brooklyn nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's why I untied you."

"Yes! But if you weren't real You wouldn't have been able to do that!"

Brooklyn nodded slightly. "So we've established that I am indeed real?" He inquired.

Hesh's face seemed troubled and downcast. He wasn't seeing things. He couldn't be. How else would he have gotten free of the ropes? "Your a ghost... Your here to haunt me because it's my fault you died. You're angry at me. Isn't that it?"

Brooklyn studied Hesh for a moment. The man seemed desperate, confused, but mostly hurt. Brooklyn slightly shrugged. He took a step towards Hesh, looking him in the eye. "Can't an old devil dog stop by to help out?" Devil dog...That's right. He had almost forgotten the MES was a branch from the Marines. Hesh was even more frustrated with the whole situation upon seeing the boy. "You- You were only nineteen."

"I still _am_ nineteen," Brooklyn replied.

Hesh went over to the door and tried the handle, but it was locked. "Damn it!"

"I doubt they'd leave the door unlocked." Hesh glared angrily at Brooklyn. "Stow it." Brooklyn shrugged and leaned up against the wall. Hesh looked around for anything useful. Although, he found nothing to fit that description. Out of anger he began kicking the door. Brooklyn became concerned with the noise he was making. "Your being awfully loud Hesh."

Hesh just ignored him. His foot connecting with the metal door made an awfully loud and sharp sound that seemed to echo around the room. It would only be a matter of time before someone heard it. Brooklyn stepped forward, grabbing Hesh's shoulder and moving him away from the door. "You got anything to pick a lock with?"

Hesh looked down at himself. He suddenly remembered a time when Semper had asked him to do her hair. He reached into his pocket and fished out a bobby pin. Brooklyn had a big smile as he took the feminine object. "This from fixing Semper's hair?" Brooklyn asked as he worked on the door. Hesh smiled. He was never really good with hair until Semper kept asking him to do hers for her. He had gotten pretty good over time. He could do ponytails, buns, and even a braid. "Yeah. She has me fix it up every now and again."

"I used to do that a lot too."

"Heh," Hesh crossed his arms and smiled. "She's got you and me wrapped around her finger. We're whipped."

"Really?" Brooklyn chuckled, still working on the door.

"Yeah you know how she is. Her, War, Sienna, I tell you man, they got us right where they want us."

Brooklyn laughed. "Nah, War and Sienna are pretty independent. War's a lot like you."

Hesh shrugged. "I hope their independent. They're off on their own right now..." Hesh sighed and looked at Brooklyn. How was he going to say this? "Lake...he uh,-"

"I know, I saw."

Hesh looked at him. "You saw what happened to Lake?"

Brooklyn took a break from picking the lock and stood straight up. "Yeah, I uh...stuck around. After what happened." He wasn't making eye contact anymore. He was looking off to the side. An awkward silence fell upon the room. He didn't deserve to die. Not the way he did. Brooklyn knelt back down and worked on the door again. Trying to keep himself busy, trying to avoid questions he knew Hesh wanted to ask. After a few more minutes he stood up and opened the door, having picked the lock.

Hesh went to step out but Brooklyn stopped him. "Hesh," he looked the man in the eyes. "I didn't come here to haunt you." Hesh looked at Brooklyn, slightly surprised. "I came here to tell you it wasn't your fault."

Hesh opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. His emotions suddenly overcame him. Tears started to flow down his cheeks as he let out a choked sob. Brooklyn pulled his friend into a hug. "I tried to save you... I tried to stop him," he choked out. Brooklyn simply nodded and gently patted him on the back. "I'm so sorry Brooklyn..."

"It wasn't your fault...it wasn't anyone's fault. Please don't blame yourself." Hesh shook his head. He was afraid to let go. What if Brooklyn disappeared again? What if it was a cruel dream? He didn't want Brooklyn to leave. Not again.

"Come on Hesh. You have to go find the others. We don't want to get caught, right?"  
Hesh chuckled at this, wiping the tears from his face. "No, _I'll_ get caught. God knows what'll happen to you."

Brooklyn walked alongside Hesh as they carried on. "I'm not much without you. If you die there's no one to remember me."

Hesh looked at him in surprise."That's not true. _Everyone_ remembers you."

"Not the way you do. You remember me in such a powerful way that I'm still here," Brooklyn kept his eyes forward as he spoke.

"What do you mean?"

Brooklyn looked at Hesh. "People live on through our memories. I'm still trapped in yours. More so than everyone else because you think it's your fault."

He didn't reply to that. Brooklyn walked casually next to Hesh, who was staying low and trying to be silent. He looked down hallways and checked his corners. Where are the others? "Far side of the building," Brooklyn said as if reading his mind. Hesh shook his head and grabbed Brooklyn's arm, pulling him down into a crouch like he was in. Brooklyn raised an eyebrow. "Hesh, you know you're the only one who can see me right?"

"Sorry, force of habit. You could never keep your damn head down," Hesh smiled. Brooklyn laughed. He stood up again and wondered down the hallway, leaving Hesh to catch up. "Uh oh. Tangos coming up on the right," he called back. Hesh ducked into another hallway to his right, waiting for the tangos up ahead to pass by. Brooklyn just watched the soldiers curiously as they walked by. He tapped one of them on the back of the neck. Hesh saw the man shiver. Brooklyn just tilted his head. Once the men walked past he spoke up. "If your done messing around can we continue please?" Brooklyn shrugged and gestured his arm out for Hesh to lead the way. "No need to be pushy," he mumbled as Hesh walked by.

"Hey!"

Hesh jumped and turned around quickly as he heard a sharp voice. When he recognized the figure, his eyes went wide. Shit. This wasn't going well. Standing there with his arms crossed, glaring at him, was Logan Walker.


	18. Chapter 18

**Finished! It took me most of the night but I got it up :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! I really appreciated it! I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the last! Remember that I post characters on my tumbler account. Go check them out at: americasheroes10**

Frost looked around but was careful not to move his head. He didn't really want to blantently indicate where he was looking. No need to give that away. He looked for weaknesses, flaws within the room perhapes. It was a pretty simple design. The room was big and it had bare grey walls. Perhapes to physcolgically mess with them? Or perhapes he was just over analyzing at this point.

He did, however, turn his head to watch Don as he thrashed and struggled in his chair. The guards in the room with them were so nervous that it was almost pitiful. One of the older ones would shout at Don to give it up, try to look intimidating. He knew it was all an act. They were terrified. They'd never seen and or dealt with Alphas before. Don already looked pretty intimidating to begin with, but when he was furious and pissed off? He was even more so.

They had placed Don, Smithey, and himself within the same room, which was intriguing to say the least. He had first considered the fact that maybe they had separated the boys from the girls, but that theory was quickly dismissed when he realized Connor wasn't with them. He then considered that perhapes they separated the older ones from the younger. That also was dismissed when he saw that Rose was not present. That then led him to the conclusion that they had put the older males in the same room.

No one had come to see them yet. It was just the three of them and the four guards. He could see that Don's wrists were now bleeding from the rubbing of the metal cuffs. He should really tell Don to stop, but then again, his endless struggles really unnerved the guards. A tactical advantage for them. Smithey was leaning back against the chair, keeping a calm and cool demeanor like Frost was. Except Smithey had resorted to death glaring all the guards.

It was then that the door opened to reveal Rorke. The man was very well built to say the least. Big, strong, muscular looking guy. Frost had never seen him in person before today. He had more Merrick's build to him. He was older than Merrick though. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood as he entered. He wore a smile on his face. Then again, who wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of capturing nearly all their enemies at once?

He saw Smithey and immediately advanced on him, as if he knew Smithey was the leader of the Alpha group. Smithey narrowed his eyes but didn't allow his face to show how he felt. Rorke wasn't playing games. He pulled a pistol and placed it to Smithey's temple as soon as he was in range. "Let's just cut to the chase, shall we? There are plenty of you to go around. I'm not afraid to waste one of you. So who's going to tell me where Sienna and War are?" He hissed. It was a ploy. Frost knew this game better than anybody. He heard Don growl. "We aren't telling you shit."

"Your afraid of two Alphas messing up your plans," Frost stated. He made sure it didn't come out as a question. Rorke turned his attention to him, slackening his grip on the gun. Smithey looked at Frost, using his eyes to tell him to be careful. "Ah, you must be that_ reader_ I heard about," Rorke smirked. Frost smiled back. Rorke had wanted to know which one of them was the Sheep Dog. Or at least, be sure that he was the Sheep Dog. That's why the three of them were in there. He knew one of them had to be the protector. Tactical error on his part. Frost didn't let that show though. "Yes sir. But you already knew that."

Rorke moved away from Smithey and stood in front of him. He kept his face neutral of course. He wouldn't give Rorke the pleasure of reading his face. "Your pretty brave, taking the heat off your leader like that. You think your clever?" He leaned in, seeking eye contact.

"Who says he's in charge?" Frost challenged.

Rorke smirked and walked back over to Smithey. "I'd say I'm correct. Isn't that right, _Rover_?" Smithey tensened at the mention of his name. He was never called that. He always went by Smithey. Always. Smithey looked at Rorke in surprise. How had Roke known that? The man just chuckled. "I managed to get my hands on your file. A little birdy told me you led the Alphas."

"Funny thing about birds is they always have a song to sing," Frost countered. He kept his face blank as he spoke, watching Rorke very carefully. The man grinned but kept his pistol pressed firmly into Smithey's temple. "You won't kill him," Frost stated boldly. Rorke raised and eyebrow. "Really?" He cocked the gun. "And what makes you say that?"

Frost smiled. "Because you need him."

Rorke laughed out loud at the statement. "Really? Enlighten me."

"Alphas are loyal. War and Sienna will come if you have Smithey. You kill him? All hell will brake loose. War will kill you without hesitation-"

"Frost!" Smithey growled, trying to silence him. He didn't like the idea of being used to capture his friends. "Stop talking!" Rorke pressed the gun harder into Smithey's head.

"You need Smithey alive. You need everyone alive," he finished.

Rorke pretended to contemplate this a moment. He studied Frost, trying to read him. With his free hand, he rubbed his chin. "Maybe I could use you after all." He removed the pistol from Smithey's head. He grabbed his chin and looked deep into his hazel eyes. Smithey grunted but didn't jerk away. "We'll put you to good use."

"I'm not going to be your little toy," Smithey hissed. He leaned away slightly.

Rorke laughed. "Right now, you don't have a choice."

* * *

"Well this fucking sucks," War grumbled as she kicked a dead tree limb. It was raining heavily now. The ground was muddy and both girls were soaked.

"Why are _you_ complaining? This was your idea," Sienna said. "I was the one who suggested we build a shelter."

"We don't have time for that shit. It's not even that bad out. Besides, a little rain never hurt anyone." Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a sharp clap of thunder. Sienna raised an eyebrow and looked at War. War turned away and started walking again. "Shut up," she grumbled. Sienna rolled her eyes but followed War anyways.

"Are you sure this is the right way? How far away is this town?" Sienna asked.

"I remember seeing it on a map. It's about twenty five miles north. We keep this pace we should reach it by tomorrow morning," War said. They needed to get a call out but between the two of them, all they had were four knives (two each), a compass, a survival braclet, two empty .45 caliber pistols, an empty Honey Badger, and an empty SA-805. God she wished they'd grabbed more ammo.

"So is this town under Federation control?" Sienna asked as she stepped over a log.

"Last I checked it was," War replied.

"So why are we heading to a Federation controlled town?"

War shrugged, "Got any better ideas? It's not like we have a lot of options. We need to secure some communication and that town is our only chance."

"Shouldn't we be going after Roke?"

War turned around and held her arms out in frustration. "Oh I'm sorry. Can you fly? Because I sure as hell can't," she growled.

"Alright, alright. Don't need to be a bitch about it," Sienna spat.

"I'm a bitch because I love you," War muttered sarcastically as she turned around to continue. War didn't know too much about the town. It was like any other small town in the backwoods. Everyone knew everyone. It was taken over pretty quick. If there was one thing she knew, it was that throughout human history there were always people who stood up against tyrants. She knew a lot about history, believe it or not. That was one thing she _did_ study. Everything else sucked. Math? Kill her. English? Blah. Science? Well, you could make cool stuff from science, like bombs, so that was ok.

"Want to give me a run down of the plan?" Sienna asked after a while.

War nodded. "If we get split up we meet at a bar called 'Big Red's' at the edge of town."

"Why there?"

War chuckled a bit. "Because if I was a rebel fighter I would probably be found at a bar."

"Yeah or if I was a tired Federation soldier who wanted a drink," Sienna countered.

War sighed. "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Yes, many times."

"Yeah well fuck you-"

They were interrupted by a snarling growl. Both immediately froze as a very large black dog stepped out of the bushes. No, correction, it wasn't a dog. It was a wolf. A very big wolf at that. Alpha wolf probably. How ironic. War glanced over and saw that Sienna was completely frozen in fear. "Sienna? You still have a paralyzingly fear of dogs?" Sienna didn't answer, she just backed up slowly like War was doing. "I'll take that as a yes."

A few more stepped out. War wouldn't be surprised if the whole damn pack had surrounded them at this point. Sienna's eyes had gone amazingly wide. "If it makes you feel any better, their wolves not dogs," War said, trying to calm her nerves with a joke. Sienna let out a nervous laugh/cry not really sure how to react. War slipped slightly in the mud but Sienna grabbed her arm and steadied her. There was no way they would be able to outrun these things. At least not both of them. "Sienna...I'm going to run first. They'll chase me. Once I'm gone you run in another direction."

Sienna shook her head no. "We'll get split up." She didn't take her eyes off the slobbering beasts. War ignored her. "On three."

"War, no."

"One."

"We can figure this out."

"Two."

"Don't you dare leave me here."

"Three."

War bolted to the left and, as predicted, the hell hounds went right after her. The rain would help mask her scent but that didn't help much if she couldn't get the wolves off her tail. Damn these things were fast. She couldn't move as quickly because of the mud and slick terrain. She could hear them right behind her. All three had followed her, thankfully. Now Sienna could put some distance between them. War managed to stay slightly ahead of the wolves. The question now seemed to be a matter of who had more stamina? Who would slow pace first? Considering her adrenilin just skyrocketed, she figured she had a decent chance.

Then she slipped. Her foot catching on an unseen root. With a grunt, she found herself sliding and rolling down an incline. Then that incline turned into a cliff side. She found herself falling through the air. Fuck. Her shoulder hit first. Then her skull. She continued to drop and slide down. Her back smashed into the side of a tree, spinning her body, causing her to hit a rock with her chest. She tried catching herself but she had too much momentum going. She ended up slipping off yet another drop. Except, this time, instead of hitting hard ground, she landed in cold water.

She went under. The current sweeping her away almost instantly. The rain had caused the current in the river to pick up. This just wasn't her day. The cold ripped the air from her lungs, making it very difficult to breath. Her head broke the surface long enough for her to take a gulp of air. She was then pulled back down by the ragging water. The air wasn't in her lungs very long. She was thrown mercilessly into large rocks. Her back, her chest, her head, every part of her body seemed to collide with them. She was then flung carelessly over a small drop. A ten foot 'waterfall.'

She landed in a deep pool of water. No current to wisk her away. She took the opportunity to drag herself over to the bank. She took a deep breath, trying to get some air in her lungs. She layed on her stomach for a moment before flipping to her back. Well, the rain had let up a bit. She looked around her. What a shitty predicament she found herself in. She lifted each one of her limbs to make sure nothing was broken. She was sure she bruised her ribs and some bones in her arms._ Fuck me._ She froze. _What the hell?_ Could she not speak?

She opened her mouth but no words came out. Yet, she was talking. She felt her head and could feel the different spots she had been hit. She dropped back onto the ground with a groan. Her speach had been shut off. It was a stupid defense mechinism on her microchip in her head. If she was struck hard enough in the head the chip would send signals to her brain to stop all acts of speaking. It was incase she was ever knocked out and captured so she wouldn't give information. It was _supposed_ to be shut off. Guess they never got around to that. So now she was mute. At least, until she figured out how to switch her speach back on.

Another problem to add to the growing list. She had no idea how far she had gone. Even worse she had no idea where Sienna was. Worse still, she had lost both her firearms and one of her knives in the fall. Now all she had was a compass and one knife. Atleast she knew which way north was. Had to have a little optimism. She got up slowly, weakly. _Son of a bitch. This really sucks._ She stood up and tried to get a feel for her surroundings.

"You ok?"

She jumped and turned quickly, drawing her blade. _You've got to be kidding me_. She was honestly hoping it was Sienna. No such luck. It was some kid. About her age. Maybe older. He was wearing a shit ton of face paint. It kind of reminded her of Hesh a bit. Except this boy had camo patterns on his face. Dumbass. That's not how you were supposed to apply the paint. He was wearing digital forest camo pants and a black long sleeved shirt. His green eyes shone with curiosity, even though she had a knife drawn. He was leaning on a thick walking stick. She noticed he had a gun clipped to his belt. That kind of made the knife pointless.

"I saw you take a spill into the water. You hurt?" He asked. She couldn't even answer if she wanted too. And she didn't. Not really. She shook her head no. Her body language must have given away the pain she felt.

"Well, I have a pretty good bullshit meter, so no point in lying to me," he winked. "You look like hell. No offense of course. I'm sure you're very attractive when you aren't soaked to the bone and coated in..." He stepped closer and even began circling around her. "Paint, mud, and blood," he observed. He took his walking stick and gently tapped her leg a few times. "You should probably sit back down." War kicked the walking stick away from her. "Your pretty feisty," the boy said with a smile. "Got a name?"

Again, she didn't answer. He contemplated this for a moment. "My names Hunter, if that helps you any." Still no answer. Not even an attempt to try and communicate. She just watched him with her green eyes. The boy pushed his soaked brown hair out of his eyes. "Well if you won't tell me your name, I'll have to name you."

War raised an eyebrow. _What? Was he being serious? What kind of stupid ass teen was this?_ He stepped within striking distance and inspected her closely. He actually had the audacity to get right in her face. She leaned back slightly as he looked her up and down. She sensed that he wasn't really that much of a threat so she lowered the knife to her side. "Hmm... Cassy? You like that name?" War narrowed her eyes and shook her head no. The boy nodded his agreement. "Your right. Your more of the tomboy type." He looked at her face, deep into her eyes. "My ma' used to tell me the eyes were the gateway to the soul. So I believe your eyes will give me a name," he smiled triumphantly as if what he said made any sense at all. She didn't believe in that crap.

"Aiden!"

She raised an eyebrow. _Aiden?_ She shook her head again and glared at him. _How about you just not call me anything at all? I'm not your damn dog_. The boy smiled at her reluctance of the name. "Nope, your soul told my you're an Aiden. So it's either that _or_ you tell me your real name." She rolled her eyes and looked away. "Aiden it is then," he smirked.

_This is so fucking stupid._

"You should probably get your head wrapped up." She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He looked at her and tapped the right side of his head. She mirrored his movement and touched that area of her head. "Your bleeding," he said. She pulled her hand away and examined it. Well look at that. It _was_ bleeding. This day kept getting better and better.

"Me and my pals could patch you up. My friend Dylan has medical training. He was an Army Medic. You'll like him. Come on." Before she could even process what he had said, Hunter had taken a hold of her arm and was tugging her along. She struggled in protest and tried to pull away from him. She tried to plant her feet in the ground but there was nothing but mud. She skidded forward. "Do you want me to carry you?" He asked, seeing as she wasn't willing to move. Did he think she was too hurt to walk? She glared at him. _Don't you fucking dare._

"It's ok Aiden. You can trust me. I'm a friend," he gave a genuine smile.

_I will snap your neck. Get the fuck away._

He frowned slightly when he saw she was still unwilling to go with him. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to persuade her. He suddenly snatched her knife and jumped away from her, out of hitting distance. She hadn't anticipated him to do that. Son of a bitch was quick. That was _her_ knife. He smiled and twirled it around in his hands. "This the only weapon you got?" He examined it closely. War growled. _You better fucking give me that._ He chuckled a bit. "If you want your knife back, your going to have to come with me. We clear?"

_Really? That's how he was going to play this? _Fine_._ She'd play along.

She rolled her eyes but followed him anyway. She felt like a damn dog following this boy around. She was too tired to snap his neck. What was the point? Maybe he had a radio or something like that. "Don't worry Aiden, you're safe with me. I know my way around." He gave another toothy smile. She rolled her eyes. _Yeah, I defiantly feel safe now. This is going to be an interesting trip_


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello again everyone! I have once again posted another chapter. If you want to check out what the new character Hunter looks like go to my Tumblr account: americasheroes10 to see what he looks like and read his bio!**

War or Aiden, as she was now going by, trudged alongside Hunter. She dragged her feet a bit, not having the energy to actually pick her feet up. She could see Hunter staring at her out of the corner of his eye. He thought he was being discrete but for a trained Alpha, it was pretty obvious. "Just let me know if we need to stop and rest a bit Aiden. No use in tuckering yourself out." _Shut up_. War just ignored him. If only her speech would come back. She had tried military sign language but Hunter had no clue what she was saying. She tried mouthing but he couldn't read lips. There was no form of communication between the two.

The river must had swept her further than she originally thought. There was no way this kid would go more than five miles out of town. Had she seriously gone that far? If she was this close it would be a while till Sienna caught up with her. She glanced at the pistol clipped to Hunter's belt. She snapped her fingers to get his attention then nodded her head towards the weapon. He followed her eyes then smiled. "Oh this thing? Don't worry, I ain't gonna shoot you."

_Yeah, no shit dumbass. I'm asking what it's for...Fucking moron._

He must have seen the frustration on her face. "Easy, Aiden. I'm just messing with you. I use this for any Feds we happen to stumble upon." War raised an eyebrow. He was a rebel in the town? That figures. Oh well, maybe he could help her. Maybe. She doubted it. She stumbled again and nearly fell to her knees from the pain it sent through her spine. Hunter reached over and helped steady her. "Hey, Aiden! You alright?" She gritted her teeth and let out a sharp hiss of pain. "We're almost there. I promise, just a little further."

She nodded and continued through the trees. She could see a cabin like building off in the distance. They must be near the far edge of town. Hunter was walking even closer to her now. Afraid she'd stumble and fall. She was sure she probably looked like absolute shit right now.

He led her up the steps into the house. It was concealed in the back woods but it was in a higher elevation so you could see the rest of the town. Nice vantage point. Hunter opened the door and guided her inside. Upon entering she saw the house was an old fashion design. Antlers up on the wall, landscape paintings, wooden furniture. He led her into the kitchen, which opened up into the living room. "Tyus? Dylan? Anybody here?" No one answered.

Hunter sighed in agitation. "Come on Aiden. I'll see what I can do." War immediately shook her head no. There was no way in hell he was patching her up. Forget it. He pulled up one of the stools from the island in the kitchen. "Alright, wait here." He disipeared down a hallway before she could protest. She sat down in the chair, feeling weak and exhausted. She felt awkward in the room all by herself. The TV was on and was playing the news. Most the lights were off except the ones in the kitchen. She glanced around for a first aid kit. Maybe she could patch herself up. She heard footsteps coming towards her.

"I'm telling the truth. I really _did_ find a girl in the woods," she heard Hunter's voice say.

"Whatever, what your really need to find is a-" The man paused as both he and Hunter entered the room. He looked at War for a moment. He blinked a few times as if he wasn't sure if she was truly there. After establishing that she was, the man quickly walked over to her. "Shit...are you hurt?" He reached for her head but she jerked back away from him. She didn't know who he was. "It's alright I'm a medic. You'll be ok...uh..."

"Aiden," Hunter said.

The man glanced back at him. "Aiden?" He looked back at her. "Is that your name?"

"Well actually I gave her that name. She's mute."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Mute? We'll worry about that later. Point to what hurts." War pointed to various areas. She pointed to several on her head, a few on her arms, her shoulders, and a large area on her chest. The man raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" She opened her mouth but closed it when she remembered there was no point. Realizing this he turned back to Hunter. "What happened?"

"I just saw her drop over the water fall at Wolf Creek. I don't know what happened before that," Hunter said.

The older male glanced around the room, standing up he started to dig through some drawers in the living room/kitchen. He pulled out a pencil and paper. "Can you draw what happened?" He asked slowly, careful to annunciate his words. She rolled her eyes._ I'm not deaf you moron_. _I just can't speak._ She snatched the paper and pencil and began sketching the main point of the events. She fell. Fell some more. Fell again. Hit stuff. Hit more stuff. He got the idea. "Damn, you fell down Hikers Pass? How'd you survive a fall like that?" The older man asked. War just looked at him. He lightly patted her head. "Your a tough one alright. Let my grab my kit," he got up and went to retrieve his things.

Hunter smiled. "I told you Dylan could help." War nodded slightly in agreement. "I knew you were special. You know what Aiden means?" War raised an eyebrow. She wasn't aware that names had meanings. She shook her head no. She had no idea. Hunter leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "It means fire." She leaned back slight and looked at him curiously. _Fire?_ His smile broadened. "You have a passion about you. It makes you unstoppable. Your heart burns with light. You can be deadly and beautiful at the same time." War looked at him a moment, mulling this over in her head. Aiden. It had a nice ring to it. She could work with that.

Dylan suddenly returned with a kit and an armload of supplies. "After I examin you and check your injuries there is a shower upstairs. Feel free to use it," he said.

Hunter smacked him playfully in the back of the head. "Dylan! That's rude. You basically told her she smelled." _Yeah no kidding. I just fell into a river. I don't doubt I smell._

Dylan glared at him. "No I didn't. _You_ did. Just now."

Hunter shook his head. "Naw, she knows I think she's beautiful. I would never tell her she smelled. Her beautiful eyes and smile make up for any flaw she could possibly have. And from what I've seen, she doesn't have any." War blushed slightly. Thankfully, it wasn't noticeable because of the mud.

Dylan just rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to walk all the way here with him. And I apologize in advance for anything stupid he'll say in the future. He isn't very tactful." War just smiled. She noticed the angel wings tatooed onto Dylan's bicep. Army Medic. Just like Hunter had said. He examined everything she had told him hurt. "Well, there really isn't much I can do. You'll just have to wait for your body to heal itself up. Everything is mostly internal. I fixed up a few open wounds you had. Other than pain killers, there isn't much I can do. Why don't you go get cleaned up?"

War nodded and headed upstairs and down the hall to the third door on the right. The bathroom was nice. It wasn't trashed with guy stuff like she expected. She hadn't showered in a while. Looking in the mirror she saw that she had mud and war paint smeared all over her face and neck. She examined her hands and finger nails too. Gross. She turned the shower on and picked sticks and gunk out of her hair as it warmed up. She peeled her soaked clothes off and tossed them onto the floor. Stepping into the shower she watched as all the dirt and scum washed down the drain. She tried to scrub her nasty hair. Sometimes she just wanted to cut it all off. She hated her long hair. She doused it in shampoo and scrubbed it for about ten minutes until she could finally run her fingers through it.

There was a light knock on the door. "Hey Aiden? I have a pile of clothes outside the door here for you if you don't want to wear your old ones," Hunter said through the door. She heard his footsteps fade away as he walked back downstairs. She finished washing her body with soap and stepped out of the shower. She examined herself in the mirror. You could actually see her skin now. That was an improvement.

She wrapped a towl around herself and opened the door to retrieve the clothes. She picked up the pile and retreated back into the bathroom. She washed her standard issue combat sports bra in the sink with soap. She doubted the boys had a bra she could use. If they did she would be greatly concerned. She had been given a pair of long cargo pants and a football sweatshirt. She knew by the size and the scent that these were Hunter's clothes. That was sweet of him to give her his own clothes. She ran a comb through her hair and dried it with the towl. She put it back up in a bun so it could air dry the rest of the way. Once she was finished she headed downstairs.

She went back into the kitchen to find only Hunter present. Dylan must had gone to do something. He smiled at her when she sat back down in the chair. "You look nice Aiden," he said cheerfully. She noticed that he had her knife in his hands. Again. He saw her looking at it and walked back over to her. "Here you go. That's yours. It was dull and dirty so I cleaned it up while you were in the shower. I polished the handle, cleaned the blade, and I sharpened it for you." He looked proud of himself. She took the knife and twirled it around in her hands. This was the best it had looked in forever. Brooklyn had given this knife to her. It looked good as new. "I also saw that the initials on the handle were fading so I fixed that too. I hope you don't mind."

War flipped the blade over so she could see the initials in the handle. It was Brooklyn's. They had almost worn away but now it looked brand new. "I also put a sealer over that so it'll last longer," Hunter said. War was amazed. It was so incredibly thoughtful of him to do that. Hunter just gave a smile. "If you really want, I could probably find you a gun to use. That knife won't help if your caught in a gun fight with some Feds. I don't want you to get in a jam and just have a knife with you." War smiled. She knew he couldn't really read lips but she tried anyway. _Thank you_, she mouthed. Hunter smiled but she saw the slight confusion in his green eyes. He tilted his head a bit. "I'm sorry, I can't read lips," he smiled sheepishly. She grabbed the pencile and paper from earlier and wrote thank you on it and handed it to him.

He read it and smiled. "Your welcome Aiden."

* * *

"Fuck..." Hesh growled. His brother stood not too far away from him. He had wanted to avoid this as long as possible. His brother narrowed his eyes and stepped towards him but he backed away. Logan stopped and looked somewhat hurt at his action. Good. Let him be hurt.

"Hesh, your still weak from the drug," Brooklyn advised.

Hesh ignored him. For one, he didn't want to look crazy for talking to himself, and it wasn't like he could just outrun Logan. Logan had the advantage here but there was no way in hell he was going back with him. "Hesh, I'm doing this to keep you safe. You'll be safe from those Alphas," Logan tried. Hesh shook his head, making him slightly dizzy. "I'm not going back with you Logan," he hissed.

Logan narrowed his eyes. "Maybe not _willingly_, but you_ will_ come back with me to your room."

"Over my dead body."

Logan looked at him sympathetically. "Please don't make this hard David. I love you. Can't you see I'm protecting you?"

Hesh growled and narrowed his eyes. "I don't need protecting! I don't want your stupid protection! Let me go Logan!"

Logan shook his head. "Don't make this difficult." He took out a sedative. If he injected him with that, Hesh would be done for. Fuck. "Don't you dare touch me with that," he cursed. Logan advanced on him anyways. Hesh had to throw the first punch. It had caught Logan completely off guard, knocking him back. He hadn't expected Hesh to punch him like that. His brother looked broken, he didn't think he possessed the power to even hit that hard. Logan recovered and lunged, not wanting to hurt Hesh by punching him.

Hesh had just managed to avoid the needle. This only frustrated Logan more. He was trying to help, damn it. Why couldn't Hesh see that? Hesh lunged for the sedative, knocking them both to the ground.

Hesh now had the upper hand, due to him being on top of Logan. The needle had been knocked away, leaving just the two of them to grapple on the floor. Logan hooked his leg up over Hesh and flipped them, putting himself on top. He went for Hesh's throat, intending to just cause him to black out. Hesh in return bit down onto Logan's hand, causing the man to cry out and release him. He used this advantage to kick Logan away from him. He rolled sideways and tried to grab the sedative but Logan grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. He swore he heard a pop.

Logan put all his body weight onto Hesh's back and restrained limb. He was laying on his stomach, now pinned to the floor. Logan reach over and took hold of the needle. Hesh, however, threw his head back and smashed Logan's face with his skull. Logan yelped and stumbled back, releasing him. Hesh grabbed both his brother's arms and pinned them above his head. Logan tried to bite, kick, and knock him off but Hesh was out of reach.

"Let go of me Hesh!" He growled.

He picked up the sedative and inserted it into Logan's neck. His brother thrashed and whimpered slightly. "Please don't Hesh, I'm trying to help!" Hesh removed one of his hands and pressed it over Logan's mouth so they wouldn't be heard. Logan's eyes widened and he was babbling something under his hand but his words quickly became slurred. His eyes starting to flutter. His head finally lolled back and his arms became limp. Hesh finally released his brother and stood up.

"What do we have here?"

He had no time to react before he was thrown into the wall. He found himself face to face with Rorke. Damn... "How did our little _guest_ manage to get out of his room? Huh?" He emphasized the question by pushing him harder into the wall. Rorke was too big for him to push off in his slightly drugged state of mind. He squirmed in his grasp but this only excited the man more.

He pulled a knife and pressed it harshly into Hesh's throat. It wasn't hard enough to kill him but it left some blood in its wake. He pressed his lips to the shell of Hesh's ear and whispered softly, "I'm going to make you scream. Your going to beg me to kill you, but I won't. I'll even get your brother to hurt you. I'll have him kill your sister right in front of you. But until then your Alpha friends will be paying the price for your stupidity."

Hesh glared hatefully at the man. He looked around for Brooklyn but he wasn't there. Where could he have-? A sharp slap brought his eyes back to Rorke. "Good, keep your eyes on me. I want to see your pain. Your fear." He brought the knife up to Hesh's eye. "I'm sure your brother won't mind if you have an 'accident' during our struggle." He was going to gauge his eye out... Hesh desperately tried to pull away, get his foot up, punch him, bite him, _anything!_

The tip of the blade hovered over his right eye. Rorke put his forearm over Hesh's throat so his head wouldn't be able to move, he used his body to pin down any struggling limbs. Rorke smirked as he saw the slight fear in his eyes. He breathed it in. He loved the fact that he was getting the Walker boy to squirm and thrash in fear. After this, maybe he would send a picture to Elias.

"Brooklyn! Brooklyn!" He chocked out the first name that came to his head. He was seeing spots from lack of oxygen. Brooklyn had always helped him in his time of need. Brooklyn always had his back. But the boy was gone. Just his imagination. He knew he was seeing things. Rorke simply chuckled. Most men would scream for their mothers. Pitiful how he just screamed for his fallen comrade. "Don't worry I'll make it quick. Just like ripping off a band-aid," he smirked.

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker around them. Rorke paused. The lights were beginning to buzz unnaturally and the were starting to flicker faster as each second past by. It was the whole hallway too, not just one light. Rorke loosened his grip slightly and looked down the hallway. The air had gotten colder around them. It almost made Hesh start to shiver. The light directly above them shattered, sending glass everywhere. Rorke ducked and released his grip. Hesh fell to the floor, gasping for breath. His hands landing and getting cut in the glass. He didn't care. He was just thankful for the oxygen. Rorke looked around curiously.

All the lights in the entire hallway shattered all at once, sending glass all over the floor. Rorke jumped slightly. Hesh could see that some of the glass had stuck into Rorke's body. He must had gotten hit by some. It had somehow gotten colder, and this time he _did_ shiver. Hesh looked up and saw Brooklyn standing directly in front of Rorke. His eyes were glowing a bright amber color. "You want to mess with someone?" He uncrossed his arms and took a step closer. "You mess with me..." Then he was gone.

**Hell yeah! Brooklyn kicks ass! Sorry if the last scene wasn't very good : / I had a bit of writers block. Hopefully it wasn't a big let down for you guys!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello readers! Thank you all so much for the reviews! They help me write :) I have finally gotten this chapter posted and I am excited to see what you guys think of it! Enjoy!**

"It wasn't real Hesh," Frost tried. They had been left to sit around in a room until Rorke returned. It was just the two of them. Hesh went on about how Brooklyn had helped him out. How he had saved him. This concerned Frost greatly. Hesh was getting so consumed by guilt that he was imagining things.

"I'm telling you Frost. He untied me from the ropes! How do you explain that?" Hesh argued.

Frost shook his head. He needed to be delicate, yet forceful with this. "Hesh, you were drugged. When you woke up it increased your adrenalin and your heart rate. You freed _yourself_." He needed to get this through Hesh's head. Yet the young man still wouldn't except that explanation.

"Then how do you explain the lights shattering in the hallway? Brooklyn did that!" He knew what he saw. It had to be Brooklyn's doing.

Frost sighed and once again shook his head. "Your _wrong_ Hesh. The drug was still working in your system. You were seeing things. The lights in the hall probably shorted out because I was being electrocuted earlier. It was just luck. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Brooklyn. This isn't healthy. There wasn't anything you could do." He had an obligation to protect Hesh. Even if that meant from himself.

Hesh opened his mouth to speak but right then Rorke stepped into the room. The man chuckled as he slowly walked towards a car battery that was hooked up not too far from the both of them. "You two have given me the most trouble out of all the others. You know that?" He leaned his elbows onto the device. Hesh spat on the floor, "Can't handle a couple kids?" Frost cringed slightly. He was trying to play this all out without making a false move that would cost them later on. This was a delicate situation and Hesh wasn't the most tactful of people.

Rorke looked at him but said nothing. He simply took the two jumper cables and clamped them to the legs of the metal chair Hesh sat in. He ruffled the boy's hair before casually walking back to the battery. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" He flipped the switch and turned it on.

Hesh's head jerked backwards and his mouth opened in a silent scream as the electricity coursed through his body. It was like hot lightening was ripping through muscle and tissue. His body was shaking badly. It felt like a lifetime. It felt like it would never end. When it finally stopped his head drooped down, his chin to his chest. Rorke simply laughed at him. "That was only fifteen seconds," he mocked. Fifteen _seconds_? He could have sworn it was more like fifteen minutes.

"I'll ask again. Where is War and Sienna?" Rorke tried for the hundredth time. Frost had been moved into the room with Hesh for interrogation purposes. Rorke must have figured one of them would brake to protect the other. He was forced to watch in hopes that he would brake and tell Rorke what he wanted to know. Frost just kept up his poker face. He said nothing. He made sure he didn't even look remorseful. He kept his face stone cold. On the inside however, it was the complete opposite. He wanted to help Hesh. Relieve him of his pain. He was a Sheep Dog. He was supposed to keep everyone safe.

Rorke walked over and lifted Hesh's head up. "How about you? You feel like talking to me?" Hesh spit in his face again. In return, he was punched mercilessly in the face. It only added to the bruising and cuts. He tried once again to wiggle free of the rope that kept him bound to the chair. He could feel the blood flowing from his wrists now. He felt weak and tired from electrocution. He weakly looked over at Frost, making eye contact with him. He saw the look in Frost's eyes falter. He was worried about him.

"Where's Logan?" Frost asked, trying to take the attention away from Hesh. Rorke looked at him and stepped away from the car battery. Frost wanted to let out a sigh of relief but didn't dare do so. "Let me guess, he's not here because you know he'd be upset with you hurting his brother," Frost stated. He knew it was true. If Logan were here he wouldn't allow this to happen to Hesh. Rorke seemed somewhat upset that Frost had appeared to have gotten cocky with him and figured it all out. He looked like he was going to head over to Frost but he paused a moment. Turning around, he cranked the car battery back on, sending Hesh into a string of spasms.

Frost watched Hesh and glared at Rorke as the man left the battery on and _then_ came back over to him. Hesh's head had jerked back again, and he was letting out grunts of pain. Frost squirmed slightly in his chair. "You keep that up you'll kill him," he advised, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. Rorke smiled and ruffled his silky white hair, his touch lingering a moment. "I'm very well aware of that," he smirked. Frost started to struggle and squirm, seeing the pain on Hesh's face. Rorke smiled at the fact he'd figured out how to break down Frost's composure. A good minute and a half had past and Hesh was still be shocked.

"Stop! Your going to kill him!" Frost snapped. He could actually _hear_ Hesh's rapid heartbeat. If Rorke didn't stop Hesh would die here. Rorke, however, showed no concern. He just leisurely stood up and walked over to the car battery, switching it off slowly. Hesh went limp in the chair. He wasn't moving. "Hesh! Hesh! Are you alright? David? David!" Frost desperately tried to get him to respond, but Hesh still didn't move. "Don't do this Hesh, you _have_ to get up! War will kill you if you don't get up!" Still nothing.

Rorke walked around and sighed. "Well that's too bad, then."

Frost shook his head. He couldn't look at him. His eyes were glued to Hesh, trying to see if he was actually still breathing. "What are you going to tell Logan, huh?" He choked out, trying to sound aggressive.

Rorke rubbed his chin, _pretending_ he hadn't thought about this in advanced. That sick bastard. "I'll untie you and tell Logan you killed him so he wouldn't turn back to the Federation. You probably won't be alive long after that, knowing Logan."

Frost shook his head. "Your a sick man, you know that?" Rorke just chuckled. "Hesh you have to get up," Frost tried again. He wasn't moving. He hadn't even stirred. He couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. Why wouldn't Rorke do something? Did he want Logan to kill him that badly?

"HESH!"

* * *

War woke up early, as she usually did. Her entire body was sore from the previous days events. She had a slight limp when she walked. She figured she had just twisted her ankle or something. Dylan and Hunter had a spare room that she had slept in. It was pretty amazing. She had never really slept on an actual bed before. It felt like she was sleeping on a cloud or something. She was used to sleeping on a lumpy rock hard mattress, or in the dirt, or curling up in a trench, or tying herself up to a tree limb so she could sleep in the tree.

She walked down the stairs quietly. It was about six in the morning. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon. To her surprise, Hunter was alright down in the kitchen. He was cooking something up in a skillet when she arrived. "Good morning!" He smiled cheerfully. _Oh god, he's a morning person_. She gave him a slight smile and sat down at the island. Hunter walked over and patted her on the head gently. "I'm surprised you got up so early. You were exhausted!" War ducked her head away from his hand and just nodded. Hunter held out the skillet to show what he was making. "Want some scrambled eggs?" War shrugged.

"I'll take that as a yes!" He put some eggs on a plate and handed it to her. She had heard of scrambled eggs before but she hadn't ever eaten any. They tasted amazing. "Want some French toast?" War raised an eyebrow. She had no clue what that was. Never heard of it before. She tried some and it tasted fantastic. _Damn, they really do give us shit food in the military._ Dylan came downstairs and ate some of the food Hunter had cooked up. "What's the occasion?" Dylan questioned.

Hunter smiled. "Well, she looked half starved so I figured I'd make a good breakfast." Dylan smiled and rubbed his head. "And who says chivalry's dead?" He chuckled. He turned back to War and checked her head again. "How you holding up Aiden?" She nodded her head and gave a thumbs up. She needed to get to the bar. Hopefully Sienna would get there soon. That's where they were supposed to be. She did some sign language to Dylan in hopes he would understand. He looked confused. "Sorry Aiden. I only know military sign language," he apologized. War bit her lip.

Dylan took out a piece of paper for her to write on. She scribbled down onto the paper _Big Red's_. Dylan and Hunter both read it and looked at each other. "Big Red's? She talking about Red's bar?" Hunter asked Dylan. Dylan shrugged and looked back at War. "You talking about the bar?" War nodded. This only seemed to make them more confused. "Why do you want to go there?"

War scribbled furiously onto the paper._ Need to find my friend._ Dylan and Hunter again leaned over the paper to read it. They both looked up at her again. "Your friend? Is your friend ok?"

_I don't know. We were separated._

"Did your friend fall down Hikers Pass with you? What happened?" Dylan asked her.

_Wolves. They chased me off Hikers Pass._

"Was the bar where you were supposed to meet?"

_Yes. That was the plan._

Dylan nodded. "Ok, we'll take you down there and see if she's there. It's occupied by the Wolf Creek Rebels anyways or WCR as we're mostly called. Tyus should be there too. Let's go." Dylan finished off his food quickly and dumped his plate into the sink. He grabbed his brown leather jacket and put it on. Hunter went to a drawer and pulled out a Glock. He handed it to War. "That's for you. It's my old gun. You should keep that incase we run into Feds." War smiled and took the gun. She always felt better with a gun.

"Let's go!" Dylan called. They both followed him outside. It was moist out. It must had rained last night. Dylan led them down a path that led into the trees. War saw an old tarp covering something. Dylan ripped it off to reveal a couple of ATV's. War smiled. _Nice._ "Aiden you can ride with me," Dylan said. "I'm doing you a favor because Hunter is a reckless driver."

Hunter pretended to look insulted. "Me? I'm a great driver!"

Dylan snorted. "The hell you are."

War did as Dylan requested and got on with him. "Hang on tight. It's a very bumpy ride." War wrapped her arms around Dylan's waist as they took off down the rugged terrain. The ATV bounced as it flew over branches and dipped down into small inclines in the ground. She could hear Hunter's ATV behind them. They where going down hill into the town, a shortcut through the woods. The terrain was rough though. A sharp drop made War tighten her grip on Dylan. Not wanting to bury her face in his back, she leaned back to get a better view of the landscape. She squinted her eyes, she thought she saw something. War tugged on Dylan's arm to get his attention. He slowed the ATV to a stop.

Hunter pulled up next to them. "What's up?"

Dylan shrugged. "Aiden saw something." They both looked to her for an explanation but she was busy starring off into the trees. She knew she saw something. She narrowed her eyes and stared into the trees. She saw it again. A very slight movement. Anyone else would have passed it off as nothing, but she knew better than that. It was an unnatural movement for a wooded area. She cocked her head slightly. She nudged Dylan's arm softly, nodding her head in the direction, trying to be as discrete as possible.

Dylan saw the urgency on her face and looked where she was looking. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Tree, tree, bush, squirrel. He suddenly paused. What was that? "What the hell...?"

War grabbed his head and shoved it down as a bullet struck the tree next to them. "Move!" Dylan shouted. Hunter didn't need to be told twice. Both of them roared off, getting as much distance as possible. War turned around as she heard other vehicles start to roar to life. Looks like they weren't the only ones with All Terrain Vehicles. She flipped her legs around so she was sitting backwards on the ATV. Dylan turned to see what she was doing but she put a hand on his shoulder to show she was ok.

She pulled out the Glock that Hunter had given her. Five Feds where hot on their tail and closing in quickly. She aimed and fired upon the closest one. The first shot missed, grazing the side of the vehicle. She had to grab on to the back of the ATV to avoid flying off the back. "Sorry Aiden! I'm trying to keep her steady!" _You throw me off this thing I'm gonna be pissed._

Her second shot hit the target dead on. It hit the man in the head and sent him flying off the vehicle, causing it to crash. "Nice shot Aiden!" She heard Hunter yell over. She jerked to the right and narrowly avoided a bullet. She quickly returned fire and shot the man's ATV, causing the thing to tumble and flip. For the third shot she wasn't so lucky. Had she even attempted to dodge, it just would have hit Dylan. It went into her hip, not too deep, but she could already tell there was no exit wound. _Shit_. She must had grunted because Dylan was trying to look back at her. She nudged him sharply with her elbow, telling him to pay attention.

She saw another bullet graze the side of Hunter's ATV. Neither of the two saw the trap ahead until it was too late. The Feds had pulled a rope across their path, snagging both vehicles. They flipped. War was sent flying off the back in the opposite direction of Dylan and Hunter. She could hear the damn ATV's smashing into the ground and rolling a little ways away. She heard a sharp grunt come from Dylan as he landed brutally. Hunter couldn't have landed much better. War's back collided with a tree, knocking the wind from her lungs. _Son of a bitch._

She tried to stand up in a daze but she was grabbed roughly by her arms and dragged towards the wreckage. _Hell, might as well see where this is going._ She struggled for a moment but she was more focused on breathing. Plus it hurt her side to fight. Dylan and Hunter were being shoved around too by a couple more guys. They were forced to their knees, putting their hands behind their head. Over all it was a pretty small group of guys. The three who had chased them and survived, and a few more that had stepped out of the trees. One of them kicked Dylan harshly when they saw his dog tags around his neck. That made War growl.

One of them pushed her forward, in between Dylan and Hunter. The big guy in front of them had to have been the leader. He started rattling off Spanish about a hundred miles an hour. _Jesus amigo, slow the fuck down. How am I supposed to figure out what your saying if you talk as fast as Usain Bolt runs?_ Then he finally jumped to English. Not very good English but understandable. "You WCR? That who you are!?" There was just something about angry South Americans that just _wasn't_ intimidating. At least not to War. She swore his damn voice got higher. "Where is leader?" _Talk about grammatically incorrect. If your gonna question someone at least try and make it sound like you know what your doing._

He slapped Dylan across the face. War didn't like it when people snapped others. It was a really girly thing to do. A sixteen year old teenager slapped people. A grown ass man should _not_ be slapping people. It wasn't dignified. She couldn't recall a time she had ever slapped anyone. Ever. She always punched with a closed fist because she wasn't fucking six years old. She could hit. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed the man was talking to her now. What difference did it make? Not like she could talk anyway. "Who are you!? Where you from!?" _Well, I'm obviously a Canadian_. God she wished she could talk right now. She was on a roll.

She didn't make any noise when the man slapped her. It stung a little but considering she had just been shot it really didn't hurt. He grabbed her by the collar of the sweatshirt she was wearing and pulled her up to eye level. He started screaming Spanish in her face. She had _no_ idea what he was saying. This frustrated the man. This time he_ did_ punch her. She recovered quickly though. It wasn't like she hadn't been hit before. Dylan tried to stand up to help her but one of the soldiers pressed the muzzle of their gun into his back. "Stop! She can't speak! She can't speak!" Dylan said desperately.

His voice drew away the man's attention. That was all she needed. She drove her forehead into the mans face, causing him to let go. He stumbled backwards, so she kicked him in the face. She heard his neck snap from the force of the kick. The one closest to her went to grab her but she drove her elbow into his face, grabbing for his gun. Dylan swept his leg around, knocking over the man behind him. He stood quickly and snapped his neck with his hands. He managed to get the gun and fire at the one behind Hunter. War grabbed a knife off one of them and threw it, hitting the last one in the throat. Dylan stood up and shot all the men a second time. Just to be sure they _were_ indeed dead. Typical Army grunt.

"Damn Aiden," he started, panting slightly. "I didn't know you could fight. Guess we don't know you as well as we thought."

_You have no idea._

She limped towards them, holding her side. Hunter could see the blood flowing out. "Shit! Aiden your bleeding!" He ran over and lifted her shirt to see the wound. Dylan trotted over as well. War pushed both their hands away and covered the wound with her own hand. She didn't want them touching it. "Aiden, I can't help you if you don't let me see it," Dylan explained. She slowly lifted up the sweatshirt and exposed the wound to them. Dylan turned her around to find an exit wound. "Shit. Ok, Aiden," he turned her back around and looked her in the eyes. It was never good when a medic looked you in the eyes. "There is an entry wound about the size of an acorn. The bullet got lodged in your hip. It's shallow enough that I can get it out, but I need medical supplies. So here is what where going to do. We're going to head down to Big Red's, I'll fix you up, then we'll find your friend. Understand?" War just nodded.

"Ok, let's see if we can get these things up and running." He started towards the ATV's. War walked over and helped him flip them back over along with Hunter. Other than a few dents and a couple of shattered lights, they were fine. They started back up right away. Dylan sat War in front of him just in case she passed out from blood loss. He didn't want her to fall of the back without them knowing it. They were already halfway there so it wasn't a long trip.

They pulled up to the back of the bar and covered the vehicles again with a blue tarp. Dylan pulled a key out of an old tin can lying on the ground and unlocked the back door. Hunter helped War inside, worried she was going to bleed out. Upon entering in the back they saw the bartender making some drinks for a few guys. Dylan whistled and got his attention. "Clear the bar. We have an emergency." The guy nodded and yelled out that it was last call.

Once everyone was gone Dylan seated her at one of the barstools. The bartender was an older guy. He had a beard and a mustache. He had a nice, trusting face though. He came over around the bar to see her. "What happened? Who is this?"

"Easy Mike. This is Aiden. She's with us. I need you to go get my medical kit from the back. She's hurt." Mike looked at her for a moment then went back to get the kit. "I'll go get the boss man," Hunter said with a fake smile. The kid was worried sick. She could tell. Dylan lifted up her sweatshirt and looked at the wound. He started muttering randomly to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. How am I going to do this?" War rolled her eyes. _Yeah that's comforting. Thanks for freaking me out asshole. _She heard footsteps approaching.

"What's going on?" War and Dylan both looked up at the new voice. War's jaw nearly dropped. She jumped up, putting some distance between her and the bar, and stumbled away from the chair. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the man. She _knew_ this man. He smiled when he recognized who she was. "Well, well. Long time no see eh?" War couldn't speak but her face expressed all the shock and anger she was feeling. Her heart rate picked up rapidly and she found herself reaching for her gun. "Whoa, whoa, Aiden! What are you doing?" Dylan asked as she leveled the Glock with the man's head. The man just smiled at her. Standing across the bar next to Hunter...was Derek.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! Sorry this took so long! I have had school and graduation stuff to deal with. My older brother just graduated. It was also exam week so I have been fairly busy with that. I also got my wisdom teeth out. And to top it all off, I had a major writers block. How convenient right? But here it is! Finally finished this chapter. Also, this may be a bit confusing but because War cannot speak right now she either mouths what she is saying or she is thinking it. I put that all in italics. It should say whether or not she is mouthing words or not though so hopefully you can follow along.**

Derek simply chuckled at the situation before him. "Aiden? Is that what you go by nowadays?" War said nothing, just starred dangerously at him. She honestly hadn't expected to see Derek ever again. She figured the coward would run off, never to be heard from again. Her silence caused Derek to raise an eyebrow though. War was _very_ well known for her smart mouth. Her tongue was about as sharp as any weapon she could use. It was odd that she hadn't fired something back at him. She kept her gun leveled with his head but still she said nothing to him. Derek tilted his head slightly, now confused. He jumped over the bar smoothly and started towards War. She immediately backed up out of his reach. "Easy there. Cat got your tongue? What's up with that?" He was reaching for her head but she cocked the gun, punctuating her threat. _Stay back._

Seeing that he wasn't going to get much from War, Derek looked back at Dylan. "She hit her head?"

Dylan nodded. "She fell down Hikers Pass. She was hurt pretty bad. More internal injuries though, but yes your correct. Her head was pretty banged up."

Derek nodded and looked back to War. "Chip turn off your speech again huh?" War just continued to glare at him.

"Do you know her?" Hunter asked. The boy was very confused with how the situation was unraveling before him.

Derek chuckled. "You could say we're old friends." He gestured for War to come over to him. "Let's see if we can fix that for you." War stepped back again and shook her head. _Don't fucking touch me_ she mouthed. Derek knew how to read lips very well because, believe it or not, this had happened before. Several times actually. He smirked. "Dylan, how about you and Hunter go find Tyus? I'll take care of _Aiden_ here." Dylan looked over at War who still had the gun pointed at Derek's head. She saw the mistrust and unease in his eyes. "It'll be fine. She won't shoot me. Just go find Hunter's brother," Derek said in an attempt to sooth Dylan. He leaned back against the bar to reassure him and show he wasn't worried about what War might do.

"Alright, I trust you brother," Dylan said reluctantly. He took Hunter and led him out the front door of the bar. War lowered the gun slightly. Brother? She studied Derek and Dylan's faces. The resemblance hit her like a ton of bricks. At first she thought it was a camaraderie military thing. But the longer she looked the more she saw the similarities. She didn't know Derek had a brother. It had never been brought up. She just figured he crawled out of hell or something. How was Dylan so much sweeter than him? What sense did that make? She let her guard down for a moment as she watched the other two leave. The way Dylan walked and carried himself really _did_ match Derek. She thought back to the man's attitude. Besides the fact that Derek was a huge dick, the personalities matched up a bit too. She jumped when Derek pulled up a stool and sat down. He pulled over another chair and sat it across from him. He gestured to it with his hand. _Very_ cautiously, War approached him.

She kept her distance, pulling the chair more towards her and away from Derek. She made sure she was well out of reach. He smiled at her once the other two left. "Oh, War. What a mess you've gotten yourself into,_ again_. Or should I call you Aiden now?" He mocked. War barred her teeth in a snarl. Derek ignored it and rested his arm on the bar. He gave her a smug look. "I'd be willing to bet your here because the Feds overran your base." War raised an eyebrow in surprise, unable to keep her composure this time. She seemed to be failing at that lately. Derek smirked "Yeah, I hear things. Everyone saw them coming for miles away. Your all that's left I take it?" War thought back to when her friends had been taken away. The way Rorke had murdered Lake. Damn...poor Lake. Her head hung slightly.

"That a yes? Come now War, you know I can't read body language. I also can't read lips if you don't look at me," Derek said.

She found herself in an awkward predicament. If she told Derek about Sienna then she might be endangering her. If she didn't then Dylan or Hunter might say something anyway. It came down to how much she actually trusted him. To be blunt? She _didn't_ trust him. Yet, he seemed to be rather sincere with her right now, but that could be an act. Derek seemed to recognize this dilemma and chuckled a bit. He pulled out a pistol, causing War to stand up and step back, raising her Glock once more. "If I wanted to kill you I would have," he stated casually, laying the gun on the bar.

_Then why haven't you?_ She mouthed.

"Because as it turns out, you couldn't have shown up at a better time. I need you."

War narrowed her eyes. _You tried to kill me and my friends. You killed those innocent soldiers that had_ _nothing to do with any this_. She felt a heavy burden lift off her shoulders for the accusation. All this time that had been the main goal. Find the murder. Yet with ,Rorke they had gotten a little bit side tracked. One problem down but another one to go.

"All that aside. I still need your help," Derek said, ignoring what War had said to him. He hadn't even really acknowledged it.

_And what if I say no?_

Derek smirked. "I don't think you will." He stood up, causing her to step back again. She kept her eyes fixed on his gun. "You see, if you help me, then I will be able to help you get your friends back. I have information on the Federation from when I was working with them. I can also fix your speech_ and_ get you talking again."

War crossed her arms and sighed._ How do I know your going to keep your end of the deal_?

Derek smiled. "You don't, you'll just have to trust me."

_I thought you worked for the Federation? Why would you help me? Why aren't you helping them?_

"Well I _thought_ I could out smart Rorke and keep ahead of him. Avoid a betrayal, you know? But after I was arrested they just tossed me aside like a piece of trash. I was worthless to them. So a bit of pay back is in order don't you think?"

_You joined the rebels for revenge?_

He laughed harshly. "I _lead_ the Wolf Creek Rebels."

_And you think I'm just gonna roll over and take orders from you?_

Derek smirked and shook his head. "Haven't you heard the phrase 'the enemy of my enemies are my friends'?"

War narrowed her eyes and uncrossed her arms. She took a menacing step forward. _We are not friends. So get that through your head now._

"All hostilities aside, are you going to stay and help me clear out the Federation from this town?" Derek pressed.

War sighed._ Fine, but I'm doing it for the people of this town. Not for you._

Derek nodded. "Fine, say what you want. And in return for your services I will tell you where Rorke took your friends, where they are being held. And, hell, just because I am nice? I will give you transportation there too." He held his hand out to shake hands with her to seal the deal. Instead, War just leaned over and spit in his hand.

"Your very charming War," he grumbled as he wiped his hand off. She shrugged uncaringly. Nobody said she had to_ like_ taking orders from him. Just like old times. What really worried her now though was where the hell was Sienna? She hadn't shown up yet. She thought about telling Derek about her absence but decided against it. She was going to have to be _very_ careful about who she trusted from here on out.

* * *

Smithey kept rubbing the rope against the side of the chair, keeping as much pressure on it as he could. He had been separated from the others, left in the command room with a bunch of stupid techs. All they did was type away on the computers. The sound of clicking keyboards gave him a headache. One of the _actual_ soldiers stood in front of him. Guarding him supposedly. He had used the location to his advantage, examining the communication table before him. He was _sure_ he could send out a message to Segan in a matter of seconds if he freed himself.

His plan was to free his hands, take out the guard, then send out a message before he was gunned down. Seemed like a great idea at the time. He didn't really have a lot of opportunities and this was the only idea he had going for him. Besides, it was only a matter of time before Rorke returned. He shivered at the thought. The man was crazy. How the hell had this guy been a respected soldier at one point?

He could feel the rope starting to ware away. He was making progress. That was good. He started to think about what he would say and who would he send the message too. Warren? The guy was pretty cool but not good at things like this. All things considered, Segan was his best bet. The Beta knew how they operated and knew them all personally. Since War had a fully functional microchip in her head, he figured it would be best to tell Segan to find and bring back War. Sienna would most likely be with her too. Then War and Sienna could explain what had happened. It was their best bet at rescue.

The rope around his hands finally snapped softly. The guard wasn't even looking at him, he was starring at the door. Probably waiting for Rorke. That was his mistake. Quick like lightning, he stood up and snapped the guys neck. In a matter of seconds he was at the communications table. He punched in the secure line to the MES base then in put in the code for it to go to Segan. It took him a few seconds to do but with the current situation it felt like hours. He could hear the others getting up and running towards him. "This is Smithey! Locate War and bring her back at all costs! No matter what! She needs-"

That was all he could get out. He was tackled to the ground and the line was cut abruptly. One of the techs actually disconnected all the communications so the call couldn't be tracked. Several of them had piled onto Smithey so he couldn't get up. He knew that would happen but at least he sent the message. One of the men pulled out a radio and spoke something in Spanish. Probably calling Rorke.

One of the men harshly shoved his head into the floor. "Easy, easy, I get it," he groaned. One started yelling at another in Spanish with the occasional angry gesture at him. Damn, he really needed to learn Spanish. He felt the cool metal floor against his forehead. His arms were twisted sharply behind his back. He grunted as one put all their weight on him.

The door was forced open very suddenly, causing it to slam loudly into the wall. Smithey looked up and saw Rorke stalking towards him. He was grabbed roughly by his shoulders and hauled to his feet by one of the techs. Rorke then grabbed him and pinned him to the wall behind him. His head struck the metal wall sharply, causing him to see stars for a moment. He hadn't anticipated seeing Rorke so soon. He thought he would have _some_ time before he got there. Rorke must had already been on his way down. Fucker.

"Did you hear me boy?!"

Smithey tried to give him a confused look. Hear him? Had he said something? The room was spinning violently at this point. He could barely make out Rorke's face. "Answer me!" His head was bashed into the wall again, and again, and again, and again. He tried to pry Rorke's hand off with his fingers but to no avail. His head was pounding. He felt sick. He could feel the warm blood dripping off his head and onto the floor. However, Rorke was angry and didn't let up. He didn't care if he killed him.

"What-"

_Bam bam bam!_

" I-"

_Bam bam bam!_

"My head-"

_Bam bam bam!_

He couldn't get a word out. Smithey could hardly breath. The air was being beat out of his lungs every time he was smashed into the wall. He couldn't think, he couldn't focus, and he couldn't see at this point. He was finally released, causing him to drop like a sack of potatoes. He gasped for breath and brought his hands up to cover the back of his head. He was swaying a bit from being hit so many times and so harshly against the wall. He was _certain_ he would pass out.

Rorke knelt down next to him, pressing his lips to his ear. "I don't need you alive. It's just easier that way. Don't push your luck kid." Smithey could barely process the words. He didn't even look at Rorke, which aggregated the man. He grabbed his chin and forced him to make eye contact. The movement jolted his head, causing him to groan. He brought his hands up and rested them on the arm Rorke was using to hold his chin steady.

"You just insist on being difficult don't you?" Smithey didn't answer, just struggled weakly. Rorke took out his knife and placed it against Smithey's cheek. "I'm going to ask you this nicely, _once_. Who did you contact?" He opened his mouth but no words came out. The whole world was going dark. The only thing keeping his head up was Rorke. He was slapped sharply across the face, bring him fully back to the world. "Oh no, you are _not_ getting out of this that easily. I don't care what I have to do, you will_ not_ pass out on me until I get answers. You hear me?"

Smithey slowly nodded, warm blood pooling down the back of his neck. He struggled to get the words out. "I...didn't send out...a message..." He chocked out. Rorke didn't look amused. He moved the knife to Smithey's throat and pressed harder. A thin line of blood appearing in its wake. "Really? Well that's not what I was told," he growled.

"I was cut off...and it didn't...send when the power was disconnected," he clarified. Of course that wasn't true. He saw it send. He had sent it when he saw the man come at him. Rorke didn't look like he believed him, which wouldn't help him any. He could feel the anger and agitation rolling off of him in waves. "I think it's time you and me had a nice long chat."

* * *

Logan hadn't left Hesh's side since he was brought to the medical bay. He had gone looking for Rorke and figured he would be with one of the Alphas in the interrogation room. He was _not_ prepared to see his brother tied to a chair along with an Alpha. He wasn't the enemy. He was just sick. Logan had frozen in the doorway for a moment before running to his brother. His heart had stopped for a moment until he gave CPR. Rorke hadn't given him a full explanation to what happened yet. He said they would talk later.

He kept a firm grip on Hesh's hand. So he knew he was there. He didn't want him to think he was alone. The doctor said he was stable for now but he just wanted to make sure. He check his heart rate and checked his temperature about a hundred times. He had a slight fever. He leaned over the bed and gave Hesh a kiss on the forehead, resting his hand gently on his brother's head. He was supposed to keep him safe. He had to protect him and he failed. Now Hesh was in a hospital bed going through pain that Logan could have prevented.

His memory flashed back to that boy he had killed. He was in a bed just like this, except he had been alone. Logan shut his eyes tightly, trying but failing to not remember it. That boy had a fever and he was sleeping peacefully...just like Hesh. He laid his head down on his brother's chest. He remembered him saying that the boy had saved his life many times. Where they good friends? That girl, War, was clearly friends with him. Now he was in the same position as her it seemed. They weren't so different after all.

A slight movement and a light groan made him lift his head up. Hesh was stirring. His brother opened his eyes and looked around the room. "Hesh!" Logan pulled him into a hug, mindful of his IV. Hesh's eyes widened as his brother hugged him. He seemed very confused and lost. He immediately let go when he felt his brother start to thrash in his grip. "Hesh? Are you ok?"

"Frost! Where's Frost? And the others?" He looked like he was about to get out of bed. He was having a fit. Logan immediately pushed him back down so he wouldn't hurt himself. His brother looked at him wide eyed and began to struggle. "Logan let go! I have to make sure their ok!"

Logan was a lot stronger than Hesh. His brother was still weak from the incident earlier. "Shh, Hesh you need to relax. Your hurt," he soothed. This didn't comfort Hesh at all. "Where's Rorke? Who's he with?" That confused Logan a bit. Why was he looking for Rorke? Why did he care where he was at or who he was with? "Don't let him hurt them Logan! Please," Hesh practically begged. "He's not who you think he is! He tried to kill me too!"

Logan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Rorke wouldn't kill Hesh. He said it himself. His brother was a great soldier. He just ignored his brothers comment and picked up a glass of water. He put it to Hesh's lips. "Here, drink this. The doctor said you were dehydrated."

Hesh leaned further away. Not worried about the water. Logan, however, wasn't in the mood for his stubbornness. He cupped Hesh's chin and forced him to drink the water. In return, Hesh spit the water out everywhere. "Where did you get this? Did Rorke give it to you? He trying to poison me? That it?" Logan tried to ignore Hesh's harsh words as he immediately got a cool rag to clean off Hesh's face and neck. He looked so paranoid. Maybe he could convince Rorke to let them bunk together so Hesh wouldn't be scared.

"Why are you acting this way Hesh? Please just tell me how to fix you," Logan pleaded. He was losing his composure and strength. He could feel tears in his eyes. He didn't want Hesh to be like this. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. He was the quiet one who always followed his older brother. Hesh was the outgoing leader that always protected him. "Just tell me what you want me to say! Tell me what you want me to do! Please Hesh!" He buried his face into his brothers chest once more, tears slipping down his face.

This caught Hesh off guard. He had been so consumed in the situation he hadn't even thought about Logan's feelings in all of this. He didn't like seeing him like this. Logan pressed his head into Hesh's chest. "Please don't leave me again. I need you. We've always been together. _Always._ I don't want to lose you again. Please. Just tell me what to do."

Hesh didn't answer. He could feel tears in his eyes as well. He grabbed Logan and pulled him onto the bed next to him. Shit. He was loosing his brother. Hesh pulled Logan up towards him a little more. His brother buried his face into the crook of his neck. He refused to let go of Hesh, wrapping his hands around him tightly. His dad would be ashamed of him for forgetting about Logan. He leaned down and whispered into Logan's ear. "I'm sorry Logan. I promise I won't leave you. Everything's going to go back to the way it was. I promise."

**A little bit of brotherly love between Hesh and Logan there :) Again, I am so sorry this took so long. I will have more time though now and will update as soon as possible!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys :) I wanted to thank all of you for your patients. It is greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter. We will be getting into the action stuff soon, I promise :) Just bare with me for now.**

Rose glanced around the room quietly and somewhat carelessly. Talon was sitting next to her, completely exhausted. The poor Alpha had worn herself out with all the yelling and struggling. Connor and Semper had both fallen asleep somehow, leaving Rose to her own thoughts. She had managed to stretch the rope to the point she was sure she could slip free with some of her blood as lubricant. But now she was faced with a very tough decision. Would she take the other three with her? There was no doubt she was better off alone. She didn't like to work with others. Yet, if she left them here and slipped out what would become of them?

She didn't know this '_Rorke_' man very well but from what she'd seen she knew he would make the others pay for her sudden disappearance. Talon was too battered and exhausted to keep up with her. Connor walked around like an elephant and would surly blow her cover with his clumsiness. Semper wouldn't want to leave the others behind and would just make the situation difficult by arguing with her. She couldn't take them with her. Yet, what would be the punishment for them? It was a tough pill to swallow. _Someone_ would be paying the price for this.

She looked over at Semper's sleeping form. She got a terrible feeling that Semper would be the one paying for her actions. Simply because she was the youngest and weakest both mentally and physically. Connor was sitting right next to her. He had scooted the chair towards her so he could help calm her down when they had first arrived. That was good because she would defiantly need him now more than ever. A couple of Feds had taken a liking to Semper. Something that made Rose very uncomfortable. Talon and her had expressed several verbal warnings to anyone that came close to her. Rose, however, was the only able body that could physically carry out these threats. If she left she would be leaving both Connor and Semper in Talon's care. And Talon was in no position to be taking care of them.

She sighed. If life was simple, everyone would be able to get through it. You needed to take risks from time to time, but the question now was whether or not the reward would be worth it. She shook her head. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. That's what she had been taught her whole life. Her mind was made up. Her decision was made. She would go alone.

She began to rub her wrists rapidly against the rough rope, causing them to burn and bleed. Rope was fairly simple to get out of if you were willing to get your hands dirty. With a couple of rough pulls her hands slipped free of their prison. She smiled at her craftiness. She looked back over at a vent that she had been eyeing since she'd gotten there. She had been sizing it up and she was _certain_ that she would fit through it. Suddenly, a slight groan caught her attention. Turning quickly she saw Semper begin to stir in her chair. Great. "Rose...? Is everything-"

Rose quickly moved forward and covered the younger Alpha's mouth, silencing her. Semper's eyes went wide and she let out a soft whimper against Rose's hand. Rose ran soothing fingers through Semper's hair to get her to relax. "Shh. Stay quiet. I'll be back. I promise," Rose's voice was barely a whisper. She didn't want to wake the others as well. Talon and Connor would surely have a fit if they knew what she was doing. She slowly removed her hand from Semper's mouth, making sure the youngling didn't cry out. Semper didn't make a sound, she just looked up at Rose with tear filled eyes. "Your just going to leave us here?" She asked softly, sounding hurt.

Rose knelt down next to her. "I'll be back _chica_. I promise. Just stay strong."

"What if they hurt Talon or Connor?"

Rose wanted to say something but decided against it. She knew they wouldn't go for Connor or Talon. They would go for Semper. How the hell was she supposed to tell her that? She couldn't. She turned back to the vent that was up high on the wall. She would have to remove it then jump up into it. She didn't want the chair to be anywhere near the vent so they could figure out how she escaped. She picked up her chair and moved it so she could stand on it. She fished around in her many pockets to find what she was looking for. She pulled out a penny.

People may laugh at her for carrying loose change but anything could be proven useful in situations like this. She jammed the small coin into the grove of the nails, twisting it until they loosened. It was like a makeshift screwdriver. Once the grate was off and out of the way she moved the chair back towards the others. Semper was looking at her intently but said nothing. She felt terrible for leaving them like this. She gave Semper a quick salute and jumped up into the vent, shutting it behind her. And just like that... she was gone. Leaving Semper, Connor, and Talon behind.

* * *

Derek and Dylan were keeping an annoyingly close eye on her. It bugged her. It _really_ did. She wasn't sure if Derek had told Dylan to do that to get on her nerves or if Dylan just didn't trust her now. Could be both she supposed. Hunter was just hanging around her, trying to read her lips so he could understand her. He had asked her to quiz him, so, she would mouth simple words like _read, stand, sit,_ ect. The boy was terrible though. She tried to say a simple sentence and he completely butchered it. Derek had been laughing at the two of them. He knew what she was saying but Hunter had absolutely no idea.

It had been two days since she was supposed to meet up with Sienna. Still no sign of her. That was concerning. She was sitting at the bar with Hunter while Dylan and Derek discussed something. While the older two where busy she decided to slip out and see if she could find Sienna on her own. She gently took Hunter's hand and lead him quietly out the front door. Easy enough. Now the only problem between them was communication.

"What are we doing out here Aiden? Shouldn't we go back inside?" Hunter asked. War glanced over at him. She knelt down and started writing with her finger in the dirt. She scribbled out the word _friend_. Hunter tipped his head and read the message. "Oh! You want to find your friend? Yeah ok, we can do that," he smiled. "Lead the way."

War was glad she got_ something_ across to him. They headed off away from the bar and back towards the woods. War figured that if she picked up a scent she may be able to track down Sienna. Maybe she could find a clue or something along those lines. She made sure she used all her senses so they wouldn't be caught off guard. No need to be attacked by Feds or wolves while they were out. Hunter didn't seem all to concerned about anything. He looked happy just to be out with her. She would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy his company. She liked having him around.

She scanned the forest floor for footprints of any kind. She needed something to go on. Sienna wasn't the kind to just go missing. Hunter tried to mimic what she was doing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him trying to study the ground and plant life around him. It was actually pretty cute. He obviously had _no_ idea what he was looking for. He saw her chuckle at his poor attempt to track and blushed a bit. "Aw shucks, I ain't no trapper Aiden. I'm not too good at this sort of stuff," he admitted sheepishly.

She chuckled slightly and went back to what she was doing. Her attention was drawn up to the trees next to her. She could see some very slight markings on the trees. Like claw or nail marks. Possibly squirrels? Except something in her gut told her no. The breaks in the bark almost weren't noticeable. They _wouldn't_ be to the untrained eye. Some of the bark had been knocked from the tree as if someone intended to climb it. Or _had_ climbed it.

A hand grabbed her shoulder, jerking her around. "You see that Aiden?" Hunter asked. He had his gun raised at this point. "I saw something run by, I swear." She took his word for it. She pulled out her Glock, sensing that something was off. They ended up pressing their backs into each other, standing back to back. She saw a dark shadow whisk by but it was too fast for her to make out. She tried to line up a shot, but she missed and the round struck a tree.

"Come now, War. Surly that isn't the best you can do?"

She jerked around and looked up into the tree, seeing a tall and slender figure. How the hell did he move that fast? The male was perched on top of a fairly large tree limb, examining both her and Hunter. Upon closer inspection she saw his pure black eyes staring down at her. It gave her the chills. She never could get used to that look.

He jumped down and landed gracefully on his feet, only a few feet away from the two. She recognized him now. This was a Beta she knew, but what was he doing out here? She lowered her Glock slightly, but didn't put it away yet. This didn't seem to bother the boy any. He simple circled the two. "I'm insulted War. Don't see me as a threat?" He mocked upon noticing her lower her weapon. He reached out and delicately put a hand on the injured side of War's head. He was very gentle. She shut her eyes and hissed slightly as his fingers skimmed over the wound. "Looks like old Smithey wasn't kidding when he said we needed to find you," he stated. He slowly retracted his fingers, only to reveal blood from her head trauma.

_Fuck off Mack._ She mouthed.

Mack raised an eyebrow. He reached out and gripped War's jaw, bringing her closer to him. "Speech shut off on you? Hm...How odd." She jerked her head away, stumbling slightly at the dizzying motion. Hunter caught her and kept her steady. "Leave her alone," he snapped raising his pistol and aiming at Mack.

"Not so fast kid."

The gun was kicked from Hunter's hand and knocked several feet away. War turned her head to see _another_ Beta standing there with her arms crossed. Raven. She recognized her from her cold stare and her black hair. Damn, those black eyes of theirs could really make you freeze up. Mack and Raven were both twins. It was blatantly obvious when they stood next to each other. Mack was slightly taller than Raven. He was a lot more slender though. He had more of an athletic build to him. Compared to War he looked like a twig but he sure moved fast. So did Raven for that matter.

The two twins watched them for a minute. Raven was eyeing the weapon in War's hands. "I'd feel a lot better if you put that down," she said crossly. War shrugged. _And I'd feel a lot better if you two fucked off._ She shot back. She didn't like being harassed by Betas. Raven and Mack weren't impressed. Hunter seemed to have gotten their attention though. Not good. "Who's this? He isn't an MES," Raven said, approaching Hunted slightly.

War huffed agitatedly. _Well, obviously he isn't._

"Don't get smart with me _Alpha_," she hissed sharply. Raven stared deep into Hunter's green eyes with her black ones. It was almost hypnotic. "Go home," she ordered. Hunter narrowed his eyes and shook his head no. He didn't want to leave War here with them all by herself. Raven's glare darkened. If that was even possible. She got up into Hunter's face. "I said..._Go. Home_." War looked at Hunter and nodded. He would be safer back at the bar. He looked at her for a long moment but she pushed him slightly in the direction of the bar. She gave him a stern look. He understood her clearly this time. Very slowly, he began to back away. Once he was several feet away he turned and ran back.

Raven groaned. "Looks like we're going to have some company if we don't move it." Mack nodded his agreement. He reached out to grab War's arm but she jerked back and stepped away. Mack gave her a confused look. "Uh, War? We're taking you back to the MES base. Let's go."

MES base? No, not yet. She couldn't leave without Sienna. There was no way. She also needed to stay with Derek. They had a deal. He had Intel they needed to help rescue the others. She couldn't leave. She _wouldn't_. Mack seemed to have other ideas though. Stubborn bastard. He once again reached for her but she roughly shoved him away. _I'm not going with you._

Raven gave a harsh laughed. "Uh, yes you are. We where _ordered_ to bring you back alive. So that's what we're doing."

War narrowed her eyes. _You don't understand. I can't leave._

"No, _you_ don't understand. Just because your an Alpha doesn't mean you can go around and do whatever you want. Your coming with us," Mack said sternly.

War knew when it came to getting the job done, Mack and Raven let nothing stand in their way. She just needed them to understand. She couldn't go. Not yet anyways. The two demonic looking Betas looked at her expectantly. She wasn't backing down and neither were they.

"Your_ really_ going to turn this into a fight aren't you?" Mack sighed, crossing his arms.

War answered by pulling Derek's knife from her boot. She had 'borrowed' it for a while. He had a gun. He didn't need his knife. War preferred knives over guns anyway. Raven and Mack both exchanged a look. "Fine. We'll play your little game. If you get a hit on one of us we'll stay with you. _Non negotiable_," Mack added sternly. "But if _we_ get the drop on _you_, you come with us. Deal?" It sounded pretty fair. War nodded. That's when the two of them shrugged and disappeared into the darkness of the trees. War glanced around to try and see them.

_Fuck._

* * *

"Son of bitch!" Rorke slammed his fist into the wall angrily. Smithey just sat quietly in his chair, glad that the anger wasn't currently being directed at him. Blood streamed from a new cut he earned above his left eye, courteous of Rorke. There was still dry crusted blood stuck to the back of his head as well from when he was smashed into the wall.

There was no getting out of his binds this time. Rorke had gotten creative and tied his hands together with barbed wire. Any small movement caused sever pain in his wrists. He had been in the room with Rorke for a little over an hour now. At least it _felt_ like that long. Rorke had been carving into him when a guard stepped in and told him something that had pissed him off. Which was why he was smashing into the wall and not Smithey's face right now.

That changed rather quickly. He was grabbed by his black hair and forced to look at Rorke. His neck was exposed like the underbelly of a dog to the alpha male. Except in here _Rorke_ was the alpha male. And he made damn sure Smithey knew it. He took out his knife and smashed it down into Smithey's thigh. He made sure it went all the way to the hilt. Smithey couldn't help but cry out in pain. He shut his eyes but Rorke slapped him sharply for it. Smithey reopened his eyes and glared defiantly at Rorke. "That's it. Look right at me. I want to see the fear in your eyes as I torture you," he hissed.

Smithey just clenched his teeth as Rorke pulled the blade out with a sickening _squelch._ Rorke drug his now bloody blade over Smithey's missing pinky. He had lost that in a training exercise when a firearm accidentally went off. "Be a shame if you lost your trigger finger wouldn't it? Not too useful if you can't shoot." Smithey shut his eyes when he felt the blade rest on his right trigger finger. He waited for the pain but it never came. Only a sharp laugh. "Sometimes the anticipation is the worst torture."

"Asshole..." Smithey growled. He saw Rorke about to punch him but he stopped when the door opened. Smithey let out a silent sigh of relief. Until he saw that the man in the doorway was Logan.

Rorke cleared his throat and gestured for the smaller male to come in. Logan nodded and shut the door behind him. He stepped into the room, his eyes falling upon Smithey. "This one the leader?" He asked. Rorke just nodded. "Not that he would admit to it, but he is."

Logan took a long look at Smithey. He walked over to the boy and rubbed Smithey's shoulder comfortingly. "He's not much older than me," Logan said softly. Smithey looked up into Logan's green eyes, yet he said nothing.

"What are you doing here Sergeant?" Rorke asked Logan, watching the interaction between the two. Logan sighed and pulled a chair over in front of Smithey, sitting down across from him. "I want you to tell me everything you know about War."

Smithey saw Rorke cross his arms and lean back against the wall. Logan snapped his fingers in his face to draw his attention back to him. "_Hey_, your talking to me. Focus on me. The younger Alpha, War. Tell me about her."

Smithey immediately grew suspicious. Why would Logan want to know about War? Didn't he hate her? Did he want Intel on how to kill her? "What do you-?"

"She took my _brother_ from me, I want to know what she did. I want to know how she talks, how she behaves, how she moves, what she does, what she's said to him. I want my brother _back_ and I will get her if it's the last thing I ever do." Logan was growing agitated. This unnerved Smithey greatly. What happened to him?

"She has a chip in her head. How do we track it? What's the code to track it?" Logan growled.

Smithey was caught greatly off guard. He didn't think Logan knew it was possible to track War through her chip. He wasn't even sure if Hesh knew that. This new information seemed to intrigue Rorke as well. Why wouldn't it? It would make hunting her so much easier. Judging by the look on Smithey's face, it seemed that it _was_ very possible to track her through the chip. The question was how. He went and stood behind Logan, leaning on the boy's shoulders. "Yes, let's talk about that. Shall we? What the code to her chip?"

**Uh oh. Looks like Rorke and Logan know a way to find War faster. I would also like to thank SweetBrownie for letting me use her character, Mack. And I would like to thank PhantomxWolf for letting me use her Character, Raven. They ended up being so much alike that I decided to make them twins. Thanks for your patients guys :)**


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